: the part of a shoe upper or boot upper covering especially the forepart of the foot and sometimes also extending forward over the toe or backward to the back seam of the upper

[derivative of vamp entry 4] : a short introductory musical passage often repeated several times (as in vaudeville) before a solo or between verses

vamp

4 of 4

verb (2)

vamped; vamping; vamps

transitive verb

: to provide (a shoe) with a new vamp

: to piece (something old) with a new part : patch

vamp up old sermons

: invent, fabricate

vamp up an excuse

intransitive verb

: to play a musical vamp

: improvise, extemporize

vamper noun

Examples of vamp in a Sentence

Verb (2) political spin doctors who can vamp up a justification for just about anything

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Verb

Gaga, however, Gaga-fies it, joyfully vamping all over the melody as if she’s morphed into a saxophone. —

Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024 Pictured below, this was a Hollywood icon dressed (in a dress that actually functioned as a dress) unapologetically made up to the nines, and vamping her heart out. —

Guy Martin, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024

Noun

Through John, Sarah meets vamp queen Miriam (Deneuve) and a dangerous flirtation begins. —

Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024 Working with Gabriella Claire Morpeth, Beckinsale completed her styling of the whimsical look with towering pink platform peep-toe Pleaser shoes featuring an ankle strap and a blooming pink flower on the vamp. —

Mikelle Street, WWD, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for vamp

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

short for vampire

Noun (2)

Middle English vampe, vaumpe "covering for the foot, upper of a shoe," borrowed from Anglo-French, probably truncated from *vampé, reduced form of avanpié, from avant- "fore-" + pié "foot," going back to Latin ped-, pēs — more at vanguard, foot entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1918, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

circa 1915, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1599, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of vamp was in 1599

See more words from the same year