1
: a piece or mass of indefinite size and shape
a lump of coal
a lump of clay
2
3
: protuberance
especially
: an abnormal swelling
came to with nothing more than a lump on his head
4
: a person who is heavy and awkward
a lump of a man
also
: one who is stupid or dull
lumped; lumping; lumps
1
: to group indiscriminately
2
: to make into lumps
also
: to make lumps on or in
3
: to move noisily and clumsily
Examples of lump in a Sentence
Noun
turning a lump of clay into a beautiful pot
He got a lump on his head after bumping into the doorway.
Verb (1)
when we lumped all of our pocket change together, we found that we had just enough a buy a carton of ice cream
while I was on crutches, I was lumping about the house like an elephant
Recent Examples on the Web
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
As Chauncey Billups took his lumps throughout his first three seasons as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, those behind the scenes saw more than a massive number of losses.
—Jason Quick, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
Ars Technica, 20 Mar. 2025
Even his earlier films that get lumped in with exploitation movies, like The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977) confront America’s policies and role in Vietnam and nuclear proliferation.
—Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 6 May 2024
The Malaysian government has offered monthly assistance to the unemployed and lump payments to workers in certain sectors.
—Matt Apuzzo, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for lump
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Noun
In busting the thing up to rebuild it, Holmes and Ellis have drained away much of the smart, replacing it with hard nudges to the ribs, tedious hat tips to contemporary sensibilities, and unnecessary lumps of earnest character biography.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
As Chauncey Billups took his lumps throughout his first three seasons as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, those behind the scenes saw more than a massive number of losses.
—Jason Quick, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
Verb
As recalls have been announced, Cybertruck sales have seemingly slumped, as Tesla obscured the true figures by lumping numbers in with sales of Model X and Model S, MotorTrend reported.
—Ars Technica, 20 Mar. 2025
Even his earlier films that get lumped in with exploitation movies, like The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977) confront America’s policies and role in Vietnam and nuclear proliferation.
—Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Choose from two of the following: Premium choice chateaubriand cut filet mignon, lump crab cakes, and Chilean sea bass cakes, whipped potatoes with rosemary, asparagus with red peppers and sea salt butter, and eight chocolate dipped strawberries.
—Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 6 May 2024
The Malaysian government has offered monthly assistance to the unemployed and lump payments to workers in certain sectors.
—Matt Apuzzo, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for lump
Cite this Entry
“Lump.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lump. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lump
2 of 3 adjective
: not divided into parts : whole
a lump sum
lump
3 of 3 verb1
: to group together
2
: to move noisily and clumsily
3
: to form into a lump
Medical Definition
lump
noun1
: a piece or mass of indefinite size and shape
2
: an abnormal mass or swelling
presenting as a neck lump
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