pump

[ puhmp ]

/ pʌmp /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: pump / pumped / pumping on Thesaurus.com

noun

an apparatus or machine for raising, driving, exhausting, or compressing fluids or gases by means of a piston, plunger, or set of rotating vanes.

Engineering, Building Trades. a shore having a jackscrew in its foot for adjusting the length or for bearing more firmly against the structure to be sustained.

Biology. an animal organ that propels fluid through the body; heart.

Cell Biology. a system that supplies energy for transport against a chemical gradient, as the sodium pump for the transfer of sodium and potassium ions across a cell membrane.

verb (used with object)

to raise, drive, etc., with a pump.

to free from water or other liquid by means of a pump.

to inflate by pumping (often followed by up): to pump a tire up.

to operate or move by an up-and-down or back-and-forth action.

to supply with air, as an organ, by means of a pumplike device.

to drive, force, etc., as if from a pump: He rapidly pumped a dozen shots into the bull's-eye.

to supply or inject as if by using a pump: to pump money into a failing business.

to question artfully or persistently to elicit information: to pump someone for confidential information.

to elicit (information) by questioning.

verb (used without object)

to work a pump; raise or move water, oil, etc., with a pump.

to operate as a pump does.

to move up and down like a pump handle.

to exert oneself in a manner likened to pumping: He pumped away at his homework all evening.

to seek to elicit information from a person.

to come out in spurts.

Verb Phrases

pump up,

to inflate.
to increase, heighten, or strengthen; put more effort into or emphasis on; intensify: The store has decided to pump up its advertising.
to infuse with enthusiasm, competitive spirit, energy, etc.: The contestants were all backstage pumping themselves up for their big moment.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE 12 TYPES OF VERB TENSES!

Loosen up your grammar muscles because it’s time to test your knowledge on verb tenses!

Question 1 of 6

The verb tenses can be split into which 3 primary categories?

action, linking, and helping dynamic, static, and auxiliary past, present, and future TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar Coach

Improve Your Writing

Idioms for pump

prime the pump,

to increase government expenditure in an effort to stimulate the economy.
to support or promote the operation or improvement of something.

pump iron. iron (def. 29).

Origin of pump

1400–50; late Middle English pumpe (noun); cognate with German Pumpe,Dutch pomp

OTHER WORDS FROM pump

pump·a·ble, adjectivepumpless, adjectivepumplike, adjectiveun·pump·a·ble, adjective

un·pumped, adjective

Words nearby pump

pumelo, pumice, pumice country, pummel, pummelo, pump, pump-action, pump-and-dump, pump box, pumped storage, pumper

Definition for pump (2 of 2)

pump²

[ puhmp ]

/ pʌmp /

noun

a lightweight, low-cut shoe without fastenings for women.

a slip-on black patent leather shoe for men, for wear with formal dress.

Origin of pump

First recorded in 1720–30; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

ABOUT THIS WORD

What else does pump mean?

Content warning: this article contains references to guns.

Among many other slang senses, pump is short for pump-action shotgun, a type of shotgun that requires the user to change the shell with a pumping-like action.

Where does pump come from?

Pump-action guns, or slide-action guns, date back to the late 19th century. The shortened pump is found on Urban Dictionary by 2003.

Pump has notably been used in rap songs, including Cardi B’s 2017 “Bartier Cardi.” Her lyrics refer to a shotgun she, apparently, keeps in the trunk of her car.

Earlier, pump appeared on rapper The Game’s 2011 “Heavy Artillery”: “Take em back to Boyz in da Hood when I pull the pump out / Something like C-Murder on Worldstar when I dump out.”

First-person shooter (FPS) video games frequently include a pump shotgun weapon, which players often shorten to pump. Games like Destiny, Halo, Call of Duty, and Fortnite, all very popular in the 2000s, have featured pumps.

How is pump used in real life?

Rappers often use pump in their lyrics. Besides Cardi B and The Game, Offset and Fat Joe have each also used pump in their lyrics, usually in an intimidating way.

The only people who probably use pump more than rappers are gun lovers, hunters, and also gamers. Since pump shotguns are common in most FPS games and are generally powerful close range weapons, gamers talk about them a lot.

Looks like our sign-in services might've gotten double-ramp double-wall rushed into submission. Luckily, our engineers are build-gods and are working to get the high ground on these noobs. Please bear with us as we try and get this dub. (like if you miss double-pump)

— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport) October 30, 2018

It is now confirmed, pickaxes do more damage than pumps. pic.twitter.com/8Jg2kMEqQc

— FaZe Thiefs (@Thiefs) November 14, 2018

Some interesting trivia: Ever notice pumps being used a lot in movies? That’s because they don’t need to be modified to shoot blanks like other guns do.

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.

How to use pump in a sentence

In addition, the sprayer is designed with a hidden pump to protect the nozzle from being blocked.

Best oil sprayers and misters for home chefs|PopSci Commerce Team|September 11, 2020|Popular Science
By the time the industry crawls out of the hole, it will find a different world, with electric vehicles and heat pumps eating away at its core market.

Big Oil’s hopes are pinned on plastics. It won’t end well.|David Roberts|September 4, 2020|Vox
Architects can deploy large heat pumps and other equipment to serve multiple buildings on a staggered schedule across the day.

Buildings Consume Lots of Energy—Here’s How to Design Whole Communities That Give Back as Much as They Take|Charles F. Kutscher|May 28, 2020|Singularity Hub
Electricity used to operate the heat pumps, lighting and other equipment will come from on-site photovoltaics and wind- and solar-generated electricity imported from off-site.

Buildings Consume Lots of Energy—Here’s How to Design Whole Communities That Give Back as Much as They Take|Charles F. Kutscher|May 28, 2020|Singularity Hub

The prototype robot uses a small pump to get its vacuum going.

Climb like a slo-mo Spiderman using this super suction robot|Carolyn Wilke|May 12, 2020|Science News For Students
Her slight miscalculation of how to fix the situation leads to her driving around the gas pump.

Slow Motion Tiger Jump, a Tornado at the Rose Bowl and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some are homes and some are pump houses, and you can only tell the difference when you see human silhouettes scurry on rooftops.

Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Two feet from the sawed-off stump of a third willow is the small foot-pump carousel Ray was sitting on when he shot himself.

The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To accommodate patients getting chemotherapy at odd hours, Hrushesky used a pump that operated automatically.

How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer|ProPublica|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So we got a compressor and we would literally pump air into each of the four cameras so we could blow water off the lenses.

‘Noah’ is a Global Warming Epic About the Battle Between Religion and Science, Says Cinematographer|Marlow Stern|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The formula would be: “The pump invented—Drain a well ,” or Water raised in a hollow.

Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
At Wheal Alfred they have a 64-inch cylinder; the air-pump is 20 inches, and the stroke is half that of the engine.

Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
I observe that you have ordered the pump, and from the description you give of it, I think it will answer very well.

Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
It was placed immediately over the shaft and pump-rods, requiring no engine-beam.

Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
A feed-pump forced water into the boilers; each had a safety-valve with a lever and weight.

Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick

British Dictionary definitions for pump (1 of 2)

pump¹

/ (pʌmp) /

noun

any device for compressing, driving, raising, or reducing the pressure of a fluid, esp by means of a piston or set of rotating impellers

biology a mechanism for the active transport of ions, such as protons, calcium ions, and sodium ions, across cell membranesa sodium pump

verb

(when tr, usually foll by from, out, into, away, etc) to raise or drive (air, liquid, etc, esp into or from something) with a pump or similar device

(tr; usually foll by in or into) to supply in large amountsto pump capital into a project

(tr) to deliver (shots, bullets, etc) repeatedly with great force

to operate (something, esp a handle or lever) in the manner of a pump or (of something) to work in this wayto pump the pedals of a bicycle

(tr) to obtain (information) from (a person) by persistent questioning

(intr; usually foll by from or out of) (of liquids) to flow freely in large spurtsoil pumped from the fissure

Word Origin for pump

C15: from Middle Dutch pumpe pipe, probably from Spanish bomba, of imitative origin

British Dictionary definitions for pump (2 of 2)

pump²

/ (pʌmp) /

noun

a low-cut low-heeled shoe without fastenings, worn esp for dancing

a type of shoe with a rubber sole, used in games such as tennis; plimsoll

Word Origin for pump

C16: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for pump

pump

[ pŭmp ]

n.

A machine or device for raising, compressing, or transferring fluids.

A molecular mechanism for the active transport of ions or molecules across a cell membrane.

v.

To raise or cause to flow by means of a pump.

To transport ions or molecules against a concentration gradient by the expenditure of chemically stored energy.

Scientific definitions for pump

pump

[ pŭmp ]

A device used to raise or transfer fluids. Most pumps function either by compression or suction.

A molecular mechanism for the active transport of ions or molecules across a cell membrane.

pump

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Verb Phrases

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE 12 TYPES OF VERB TENSES!

Meet Grammar Coach

Meet Grammar Coach

Idioms for pump

Origin of pump

OTHER WORDS FROM pump

Words nearby pump

Definition for pump (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of pump

ABOUT THIS WORD

What else does pump mean?

Where does pump come from?

How is pump used in real life?

Note

Words related to pump

How to use pump in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pump (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for pump

British Dictionary definitions for pump (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for pump

Medical definitions for pump

n.

v.

Scientific definitions for pump