pump - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

• enPR: pŭmp, IPA^(key): /pʌmp/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌmp

From Middle English pumpe, possibly from Middle Dutch pompe (“pipe, water conduit”) or Middle Low German pumpe (“pump”). Compare Dutch pompen, German pumpen, and Danish pompe.

pump (plural pumps)

1. A device for moving or compressing a liquid or gas.

   This pump can deliver 100 gallons of water per minute.

2. An instance of the action of a pump; one stroke of a pump; any action similar to pumping

   It takes thirty pumps to get 10 litres; he did 50 pumps of the weights.

3. A device for dispensing liquid or gas to be sold, particularly fuel.

   This pump is out of order, but you can gas up at the next one.

4. (bodybuilding, climbing) A swelling of the muscles caused by increased blood flow following high intensity weightlifting.

   • 2010, Eric Velazquez, “Power Pairings”, in Reps!, 17:83:

     Want a skin-stretching pump? Up the volume by using high-rep sets.
     A great pump is better than coming. (Arnold Schwarzenegger)

5. (colloquial) A ride on a bicycle given to a passenger, usually on the handlebars or fender.

   She gave the other girl a pump on her new bike.

6. (US, slang) The heart.
7. (obsolete, vulgar, British slang) The vagin*.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:vagin*

   • 1750, “Ge ho, Dobbin or the Waggoner”, in The Tulip, page 2:

     Thus to and again to our paſtime we went, / And my Cards I play'd fairly to Jenny's content; / I work'd at her Pump till my Sucker grew dry, / Then I left pumping, a good Reaſon why.

Terms derived from the noun or verb pump

pump (third-person singular simple present pumps, present participle pumping, simple past and past participle pumped)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To use a pump; to move (water or other liquid) by means of a pump. [from 16th c.]

   I've been pumping for over a minute but the water isn't coming through.

   I've pumped over 1000 gallons of water in the last ten minutes.

2. (transitive) To inject or pour (something) into someone or something in a manner similar to a pump.

   • 2023 August 7, Clive Cookson, “Missing ice and bleached coral: the sudden warming of the oceans”, in Financial Times‎^[1]:

     The underlying cause of the warming is human activities pumping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, scientists say. But the reasons why marine heating is speeding up now are far from clear.

3. (obsolete) To put (a person or part of the body) under a stream of water from a pump, as a punishment or as a form of medical treatment; to force a pump of water upon or on someone. [16th–19th c.]

   • 1676, Thomas Shadwell, The Virtuoso:

     Pump him soundly, impudent Fellow.

   • 1872, George Eliot, Middlemarch, Book IV, chapter 37:

     ‘So much the worse for him. I've had my eye on him for some time. He shall be prettily pumped upon.’

4. (transitive) To gain information from (a person) by persistent questioning. [from 17th c.]

   Synonyms: grill, interrogate

   • 1682, Thomas Otway, Venice Preserv'd:

     But pump not me for politics.

   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company,[…], →OCLC, part I, page 214:

     I had no idea why he wanted to be sociable, but as we chatted in there it suddenly occurred to me the fellow was trying to get at something - in fact, pumping me.

   • 2017, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 3509: Sensitive Information:

     "Did Dora just offer up that advice, or were you pumping her for information?" "Shoot, I outed my informant. I'm a terrible spy."

5. (British, slang) To copulate with; to sexually penetrate, especially with a thrusting motion. [from 18th c.]

   Synonyms: bang; see also Thesaurus:copulate, Thesaurus:copulate with

   • 1750, “Ge ho, Dobbin or the Waggoner”, in The Tulip, page 2:

     Thus to and again to our paſtime we went, / And my Cards I play'd fairly to Jenny's content; / I work'd at her Pump till my Sucker grew dry, / Then I left pumping, a good Reaſon why.

   • 1990 December 9, “Personal advertisem*nt”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 21, page 12:

     Pump my tight hole so long and hard that I can't walk or sit when you're done.

6. (transitive, intransitive) To express milk from (a breast) by means of a breast pump. [from 19th c.]
7. (transitive, often followed by up) To fill with air by means of a pump; to inflate. [from 19th c.]

   He pumped up the air-bed by hand, but used the service station air to pump up the tyres.

8. (transitive) To move rhythmically, as the motion of a pump. [from 19th c.]

   I pumped my fist with joy when I won the race.

9. (bodybuilding) To enlarge the body by means of weightlifting or steroid use. [from 20th c.]

   Synonyms: big up, lift, pump iron

10. (transitive) To shake (a person's hand) vigorously. [from 10th c.]

    Synonym: handshake

11. (US, intransitive, slang) Of music: to be loud, to have strong bass and rhythms; (by extension) to be full of energy. [from 20th c.]

    The waves were really pumping this morning.

    Last night's party was really pumping.

12. (sports) To kick, throw, or hit the ball far and high.

    • 2011 February 5, Michael Da Silva, “Wigan 4 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC‎^[2]:

      Blackburn pumped long balls towards Diouf as they became increasingly desperate to salvage a point, but Wigan held on for a win that may prove crucial in their quest for Premier League survival.

13. (British, slang, vulgar) To pass gas; to fart quietly.

    Synonyms: trump; see also Thesaurus:flatulate

    • 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 82:

      People never pumped, just never never, but sometimes ye got smells.

14. (computing) To pass (messages) into a program so that it can obey them.

    • 2006, Andrew Troelsen, Pro C# 2005 and the .NET 2.0 Platform:

      Sure enough, rather than pumping a message to the Console window, you will now see a message box displaying your message

    • 2008, Joe Duffy, Concurrent Programming on Windows:

      The CLR pumps messages automatically during a wait, reducing the likelihood of this but it can show up in native code.

    • c. 2012, Microsoft, .NET Framework 4.5 documentation for Marshal.CleanupUnusedObjectsInCurrentContext

      The interop system pumps messages while it attempts to clean up RCWs.

15. (colloquial) To inject silicone into the body in order to try to achieve a fuller or curvier look.

• ⇒ Czech: pumpovat

• → Thai: ปั๊ม (bpám)

The etymology of the term is unclear and disputed. One possibility is that it comes from pomp (“ornamentation”).^[1] Another is that it refers to the sound made by the foot moving inside the shoe when dancing.^[2] The Oxford English Dictionary claims that it appeared in the 16th century, and lists its origin as "obscure". It has also been linked to the Dutch pampoesje, possibly borrowed from Javanese pampus, ultimately from Persian پاپوش (pâpuš), borrowed from Arabic بَابُوش (bābūš).^[3]

pump (plural pumps)

1. (British) A low-top shoe with a rubber sole and a canvas upper; a low-top canvas sneaker.

   Synonyms: gym shoe, (UK) dap, (UK) plimsoll, (US) sneaker

2. (chiefly Canada, US) A type of women's shoe which leaves the instep uncovered and has a relatively high heel, especially a stiletto (with a very high and thin heel)

   Synonym: court shoe

   She was wearing a lovely new pair of pumps.

3. A dancing shoe.

   • 1591, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew:

     Gabriel's pumps were all unpinkt i' th' heel

   • 2012, Rachael Martin, The Fashion Lover's Guide to Milan‎^[3]:

     Ballerine - or ballet pumps - are the Milanese woman's footwear 'de rigeur', and not just because there are so many cobbled streets to walk over and are therefore infinitely preferable to heels.

4. A type of shoe without a heel.^[4](Can we add an example for this sense?)

• UMPP

pump

1. imperative of pumpe

From Middle Low German pumpe (“ship's pump”).

pumpc

1. a pump

• pump in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• pump in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• pump in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• mupp

• pum (when followed by a singular noun)

From Middle Welsh pymp, from Old Welsh pimp, from Proto-Brythonic *pɨmp, from Proto-Celtic *kʷenkʷe, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe.

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /pɨ̞mp/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /pɪmp/
• Rhymes: -ɨ̞mp

pump (before nouns pum)

1. (cardinal number) five

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “pump”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

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