hump Hear it!

hump Definition

hump (hump)

noun

  1. a rounded, protruding lump, as the fleshy mass on the back of a camel
  2. a hummock; mound
  3. Brit., Informal a fit of melancholy: with the

Etymology: < or akin to LowG humpe, thick piece < IE *kumb- (< base *keu-, to bend, curve) > hip, Sans kumba-, thick end (of a bone), Gr kymbē, a bowl

transitive verb

  1. to hunch; arch the cat humped its back
  2. Austral., Brit., Informal to carry on the back
  3. Slang to have sexual intercourse with

intransitive verb

  1. to exert oneself
  2. to hurry

hump Idioms

over the hump

Informal over the worst or most difficult part

hump Synonyms

hump

n.

protuberance, mound, bump, swelling, camel hump, humpback, hunchback, hummock, protrusion, elevation, convexity, knob, knap, convexedness, excrescence, prominence, knurl, monticle, eminence, boss, projection, swell, hunch, barrow, gibbosity, lump, dune, tumescence, kopje; see also bulge, hill.

hump* Synonyms

hump*

v.

rush, work hard, speed up; see hurry 1.

hump Usage Examples

Object

  • bridge: At the bottom of the garden flowed a small stream with a little humped bridge which is still there.

Converse of object

  • traverse: From a selection of 40 vehicles, only 8 traversed the humps without deviating to the middle of the road to avoid them.
  • install: Cllr Salinger has refused to allow the council to install any humps in his ward.
  • negotiate: If they are so incompetent at negotiating a speed hump; just how safe are they at high speeds?
  • remove: Some Councils have seen fit to remove the old humps, others not.
  • speed: Will speed humps lead to an increase in noise levels?
  • get: She's still got the hump with him for planning to go to South Africa.

Preposition: on

  • road: Only a 'loose cannon ' would argue in a road safety magazine in 1973 for speed humps on public roads.

Adjective modifier

  • flat-top: Two ' standard ' profiles were included for comparison: a 3.7m long round-top hump and an 8m long flat-top hump with straight ramps.
  • black: One resident felt that this whole project was a blot on the landscape; the black humps reminded others of German helmets!
  • big: Also, they have a big hump, sometimes two.

Modifies a noun

  • bridge: The lane descends fast bearing right at the bottom of the hill to a hump back bridge.
  • back: The lane descends fast bearing right at the bottom of the hill to a hump back bridge.

Noun used with modifier

  • buffalo: No, you won't grow a buffalo hump overnight.
  • speed: Funny, we thought speed humps were supposed to reduce speeds.
  • road: Traffic wardens, road humps, speed cameras - any curb on cars makes us angry.
  • traffic: Traffic humps Traffic humps on Ashford Road would increase traffic noise and vibrations, so would not be an acceptable solution.

Possessives

  • dowager: The deformity is responsible for some cases of so-called dowager's hump.
  • camel: Then on to Linda's Arabic dancing - great being in the desert and dancing like a camel's hump.

Preposition: in

  • road: On the very top of the map, you will find a small hump in the road.
hump Quotes

The camel has a single hump; The dromedary, two; Or else the other way around, I'm never sure. Are you?

—Nash, (Frederic) Ogden

The camel's hump is an ugly lump Which well you may see at the Zoo; But uglier yet is the hump we get From having too little to do.

—Kipling, (Joseph) Rudyard

  What are we learning Frenchor thepianofor,Iwould like to know, if it is not to be sold to a man some day† We have to cringe, and manoeuvre, and grimace for a husbandöa husband who may be deaf orhavea hump if he is richöa husband that may attack you in delirium tremens to-day if he makes a devout act of contrition for it to-morrow.

—O'Brien,William

A woman with fair opportunities and without a positive hump, may marry whom she likes.

—Thackeray,William Makepeace

Browse dictionary entries near hump

  1. humour
  2. humorously
  3. humorous
  4. humorist
  5. humoresque
  6. humoral
  7. humor
  8. humongous
  9. hummus
  10. hummock
  1. humpback
  2. humpbacked
  3. humped
  4. humped yield curve
  5. Humperdinck
  6. humph
  7. Humphrey
  8. Humphrey-Hawkins Act
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