rumpus

noun

rum·​pus ˈrəm-pəs 

: a usually noisy commotion

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of rumpus in a Sentence

the kids made such a rumpus that they woke up everyone else in the house

Recent Examples on the Web

Vinicius was once again tormented by old nemesis Pablo Maffeo throughout the action, and was therefore heated at full time and caught causing a rumpus in the tunnel. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025

But in the world of venture capital, where investors pride themselves on being mature counselors to brilliant-but-impulsive founders, the public dispute that broke out between Andreessen and Khosla over the past few days qualifies as a remarkable rumpus. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024

The sunset is a red-gold rumpus on the western sky. —Anne Carson, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024

A little boy named Max who got up on the wrong side of the bed meets a troupe of teeth-gnashing monsters — and so the wild rumpus begins. —Karen Cicero, Good Housekeeping, 10 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1745, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing rumpus

• rumpus room

Kids Definition

rumpus

noun

rum·​pus ˈrəm-pəs 

: a noisy commotion