bump

noun

• 1a light blow or a jolting collision:a nasty bump on the head
• (the bumps) British informal (on a person’s birthday) a custom by which the person is lifted by the arms and legs and let down on to the ground, once for each year of their age: the children were given the bumps
• Rowing (in races where boats make a spaced start one behind another) the point at which a boat begins to overtake or touch the boat ahead, thereby defeating it.
• Aeronautics a rising air current causing an irregularity in an aircraft’s motion.

• 2a protuberance on a level surface:bumps in the road
• a swelling on the skin, especially one caused by illness or injury: her mosquito bites had come up in huge red bumps
• dated a lump on a person’s skull, formerly thought to indicate a particular mental faculty.

• 3 informal, chiefly US an increase:there was a bump in the number of outbound flights

• 4 [mass noun] a loosely woven fleeced cotton fabric used in upholstery and as lining material.

verb

• 1 [no object] knock or run into someone or something with a jolt:I almost bumped into him [with object]:she bumped the girl with her hip
• (bump into) meet by chance:we might just bump into each other
• [with object] hurt or damage (something) by striking it on something else:she bumped her head on the sink
• [with object] Rowing (in a race) gain a bump against.

• 2 [no object, with adverbial of direction] move or travel with much jolting:the car bumped along the rutted track
• [with object and adverbial of direction] push (something) jerkily in a specified direction:she had to bump the pushchair down the steps

• 3 [with object] refuse (a passenger) a reserved place on a flight because of deliberate overbooking by the airline: if you check in on time and are bumped, you will be entitled to a full refund
• North American displace from a job, especially in favour of someone else:she was bumped for a youthful model