4 N‑COUNT If you have a bump while you are driving a car, you have a minor accident in which you hit something. [INFORMAL ]
5 N‑COUNT A bump on a road is a raised, uneven part. □ The truck hit a bump and bounced.
6 VERB If a vehicle bumps over a surface, it travels in a rough, bouncing way because the surface is very uneven. □ [V prep/adv] We left the road, and again bumped over the mountainside.
7 → see also goose bumps
8 PHRASE If someone comes down to earth with a bump , they suddenly start recognizing unpleasant facts after a period of time when they have not been doing this. [EMPHASIS ] □ [+ after ] We were brought back to earth with a bump by financial reality.
▸ bump into PHRASAL VERB If you bump into someone you know, you meet them unexpectedly. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P n] I happened to bump into Mervyn Johns in the hallway.
▸ bump off PHRASAL VERB To bump someone off means to kill them. [often HUMOROUS , INFORMAL ] □ [V n P ] They will probably bump you off anyway! □ [V P n] …a vigilante killer who is bumping off criminals.
bump|er /bʌ mpə r / (bumpers )
1 N‑COUNT Bumpers are bars at the front and back of a vehicle which protect it if it bumps into something.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] A bumper crop or harvest is one that is larger than usual. □ …a bumper crop of rice. □ In the state of Iowa, it's been a bumper year for corn.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] If you say that something is bumper size, you mean that it is very large. □ …bumper profits. □ …a bumper pack of matches.
bu mp|er car (bumper cars ) N‑COUNT A bumper car is a small electric car with a wide rubber bumper all round. People drive bumper cars around a special enclosure at a fairground.
bu mp|er stick|er (bumper stickers ) N‑COUNT A bumper sticker is a small piece of paper or plastic with words or pictures on it, designed for sticking onto the back of your car. It usually has a political, religious, or humorous message. □ …a bumper sticker that said, 'Happiness Is Being a Grandmother'.
bumph /bʌ mf/ → see bumf
bump|kin /bʌ mpk I n/ (bumpkins ) N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as a bumpkin , you think they are uneducated and stupid because they come from the countryside. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …unsophisticated country bumpkins.
bump|tious /bʌ mpʃəs/ ADJ If you say that someone is bumptious , you are criticizing them because they are very pleased with themselves and their opinions. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …a bumptious bureaucrat.
bumpy /bʌ mpi/ (bumpier , bumpiest )
1 ADJ A bumpy road or path has a lot of bumps on it. □ …bumpy cobbled streets.
2 ADJ A bumpy journey is uncomfortable and rough, usually because you are travelling over an uneven surface. □ …a hot and bumpy ride across the desert.
bun /bʌ n/ (buns )
1 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] Buns are small bread rolls. They are sometimes sweet and may contain dried fruit or spices. □ …a currant bun.
2 N‑COUNT Buns are small sweet cakes. They often have icing on the top. [BRIT ]
3 N‑COUNT If a woman has her hair in a bun , she has fastened it tightly on top of her head or at the back of her head in the shape of a ball.
4 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Your buns are your buttocks. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □ I'd pinch his buns and kiss his neck.
bunch ◆◇◇ /bʌ ntʃ/ (bunches , bunching , bunched )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing, adj N ] A bunch of people is a group of people who share one or more characteristics or who are doing something together. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ of ] My neighbours are a bunch of busybodies. □ [+ of ] We were a pretty inexperienced bunch of people really. □ The players were a great bunch.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A bunch of flowers is a number of flowers with their stalks held or tied together. □ [+ of ] He had left a huge bunch of flowers in her hotel room.
3 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A bunch of bananas or grapes is a group of them growing on the same stem. □ [+ of ] Lili had fallen asleep clutching a fat bunch of grapes.
4 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A bunch of keys is a set of keys kept together on a metal ring. □ [+ of ] George took out a bunch of keys and went to work on the complicated lock.
5 QUANT A bunch of things is a number of things, especially a large number. [AM , INFORMAL ] □ [+ of ] We did a bunch of songs together. ● PRON Bunch is also a pronoun. □ I'd like to adopt a multi-racial child. In fact, I'd love a whole bunch.
6 N‑PLURAL [usu in N ] If a girl has her hair in bunches , it is parted down the middle and tied on each side of her head. [BRIT ]
7 VERB If clothing bunches around a part of your body, it forms a set of creases around it. □ [V + around ] She clutches the sides of her skirt until it bunches around her waist.
▸ bunch up or bunch together PHRASAL VERB If people or things bunch up or bunch together , or if you bunch them up or bunch them together , they move close to each other so that they form a small tight group. □ [V P ] They were bunching up, almost treading upon each other's heels. □ [V -ed P ] People were bunched up at all the exits. □ [V n P ] If they need to bunch aircraft more closely together, they will do so.