Bump

to come more or less violently in contact with; collide with; strike:
His car bumped a truck.
to cause to strike or collide:
He bumped the car against a tree.
to dislodge or displace by the force of collision.
to dislodge by appropriating the privileges of:
The airline bumped me from the flight.
to demote or dismiss:
He was bumped from his job.
to force upward; raise:
Demand from abroad bumped the price of corn.
to move to a new position:
We had to bump your story to next week’s paper.
Digital Technology. to move (an online post or thread) to the top of the reverse chronological list by adding a new comment or post to the thread:
I bumped the question I posted last week to make it more visible.
Poker. raise (def 24).
to come in contact or collide with (often followed by against or into):
She bumped into me.
to bounce along; proceed in a series of jolts:
The old car bumped down the road.
to dance by thrusting the pelvis forward abruptly, in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
Compare grind (def 14)
to boil with violent jolts caused by the sudden eruption of large bubbles through the surface.
an act or instance of bumping; collision; blow.
the shock of a blow or collision.
a swelling or contusion from a blow.
a small area raised above the level of the surrounding surface; protuberance:
He tripped over a bump on the sidewalk.
Informal. a promotion or demotion; transfer to a higher or lower level:
He got a bump to vice president of the company.
Informal. an increase in amount, especially of salary or a wager:
He asked the boss for a ten-dollar bump.
Aeronautics. a rapidly rising current of air that gives an airplane a severe upward thrust.
a dance movement in which the pelvis is abruptly thrust forward in a provocative manner, especially to the accompaniment of an accented musical beat.
Compare grind (def 20)
Mining. crump (def 6).
bump into, Informal. to meet by chance:
I bumped into an old friend yesterday.
bump off, Slang. to kill, especially to murder:
They bumped him off because he knew too much.
Contemporary Examples

Americans See Innocent Black Kids as Guilty Adults Jamelle Bouie March 10, 2014
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Covert Workout, Rob Ford Goes Jamaican and More Viral Videos Ariana Dickey January 24, 2014
DJ’s who Hoaxed Kate Middleton Nurse Keep Jobs Tom Sykes January 27, 2013
Michaele Salahi, Movin’ On Up Michelle Cottle September 15, 2011
I Was an Astor Trial Juror Philip Bump October 8, 2009

Historical Examples

Nuggets of the New Thought William Walker Atkinson,
Dorothy Dixon Wins Her Wings Dorothy Wayne
Zuleika Dobson Max Beerbohm
Dew Drops, Vol. 37, No. 15, April 12, 1914 Various
Hard Cash Charles Reade

verb
when intr, usually foll by against or into. to knock or strike with a jolt
(intransitive) often foll by along. to travel or proceed in jerks and jolts
(transitive) to hurt by knocking: he bumped his head on the ceiling
(transitive) to knock out of place; dislodge: the crash bumped him from his chair
(transitive) (Brit) to throw (a child) into the air, one other child holding each limb, and let him down again to touch the ground
(in rowing races, esp at Oxford and Cambridge) to catch up with and touch (another boat that started a fixed distance ahead)
(cricket) to bowl (a ball) so that it bounces high on pitching or (of a ball) to bounce high when bowled
(intransitive) (mainly US & Canadian) to dance erotically by thrusting the pelvis forward (esp in the phrase bump and grind)
(transitive) (poker) to raise (someone)
(transitive) (informal) to exclude a ticket-holding passenger from a flight as a result of overbooking
(transitive) (informal) to displace (someone or something) from a previously allocated position: the story was bumped from the front page
(US, slang) bump uglies, to have sexual intercourse
noun
an impact; knock; jolt; collision
a dull thud or other noise from an impact or collision
the shock of a blow or collision
a lump on the body caused by a blow
a protuberance, as on a road surface
any of the natural protuberances of the human skull, said by phrenologists to indicate underlying faculties and character
a rising current of air that gives an aircraft a severe upward jolt
(pl) the act of bumping a child. See sense 5
(rowing) the act of bumping See bumping race
(cricket) bump ball, a ball that bounces into the air after being hit directly into the ground by the batsman
n.
v.

A job promotion: I see old Pipkin has got the bump to full professor (1930s+)
In dancing, a thrust of the pelvis: She unreeled about fifty bumps in dazzling staccato
A drink; slug: They go out and have a bump of whiskey (1980s+)
A party (1980s+ Teenagers)

To discharge; dismiss; fire: They bumped him for insubordination (1915+)
To take away one person’s status in order to accommodate someone of greater importance or seniority: A person is bumped by someone with a larger number of retention points (1860+ Railroad)
To cancel a reserved seat on an airline, bus, etc, because the vehicle has been oversold: To be bumped means to be put off a flight because too many seats have been sold (1940s+)
To displace a sports opponent by defeat: The Indians bumped the Tigers out of third place (1950s+)
To kill; BUMP someone OFF (1910+)
To make pregnant; KNOCK someone UP: She had to blame someone for bumping her (1930s+)
To do the sex act with or to (1980s+ Students)
To promote: He got bumped to assistant manager (1930s+)
To raise a bet (1930s+ Poker)
In dancing, esp in striptease, to thrust the pelvis forward and up •Nearly always in combination with grind (1940s+ Show business)

Increment. E.g. C’s ++ operator. It is used especially of counter variables, pointers and index dummies in “for”, “while”, and “do-while” loops.
(1994-11-29)

bump into
bump off
bump up