an apparatus or machine for raising, driving, exhausting, or compressing fluids or gases by means of a piston, plunger, or set of rotating vanes.
Engineering, Building Trades. a shore having a jackscrew in its foot for adjusting the length or for bearing more firmly against the structure to be sustained.
Biology. an animal organ that propels fluid through the body; heart.
Cell Biology. a system that supplies energy for transport against a chemical gradient, as the sodium pump for the transfer of sodium and potassium ions across a cell membrane.
verb (used with object)
to raise, drive, etc., with a pump.
to free from water or other liquid by means of a pump.
to inflate by pumping (often followed by up): to pump a tire up.
to operate or move by an up-and-down or back-and-forth action.
to supply with air, as an organ, by means of a pumplike device.
to drive, force, etc., as if from a pump: He rapidly pumped a dozen shots into the bull's-eye.
to supply or inject as if by using a pump: to pump money into a failing business.
to question artfully or persistently to elicit information: to pump someone for confidential information.
to elicit (information) by questioning.
verb (used without object)
to work a pump; raise or move water, oil, etc., with a pump.
to operate as a pump does.
to move up and down like a pump handle.
to exert oneself in a manner likened to pumping: He pumped away at his homework all evening.
to seek to elicit information from a person.
to come out in spurts.
Verb Phrases
pump up,
to inflate.
to increase, heighten, or strengthen; put more effort into or emphasis on; intensify: The store has decided to pump up its advertising.
to infuse with enthusiasm, competitive spirit, energy, etc.: The contestants were all backstage pumping themselves up for their big moment.
Idioms for pump
prime the pump,
to increase government expenditure in an effort to stimulate the economy.
to support or promote the operation or improvement of something.
pump iron. iron (def. 29).
Origin of pump
1
1400–50; late Middle English pumpe (noun); cognate with German Pumpe,Dutch pomp
In addition, the sprayer is designed with a hidden pump to protect the nozzle from being blocked.
Best oil sprayers and misters for home chefs|PopSci Commerce Team|September 11, 2020|Popular Science
By the time the industry crawls out of the hole, it will find a different world, with electric vehicles and heat pumps eating away at its core market.
Big Oil’s hopes are pinned on plastics. It won’t end well.|David Roberts|September 4, 2020|Vox
Electricity used to operate the heat pumps, lighting and other equipment will come from on-site photovoltaics and wind- and solar-generated electricity imported from off-site.
Buildings Consume Lots of Energy—Here’s How to Design Whole Communities That Give Back as Much as They Take|Charles F. Kutscher|May 28, 2020|Singularity Hub
Architects can deploy large heat pumps and other equipment to serve multiple buildings on a staggered schedule across the day.
Buildings Consume Lots of Energy—Here’s How to Design Whole Communities That Give Back as Much as They Take|Charles F. Kutscher|May 28, 2020|Singularity Hub
The prototype robot uses a small pump to get its vacuum going.
Climb like a slo-mo Spiderman using this super suction robot|Carolyn Wilke|May 12, 2020|Science News For Students
Some are homes and some are pump houses, and you can only tell the difference when you see human silhouettes scurry on rooftops.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To accommodate patients getting chemotherapy at odd hours, Hrushesky used a pump that operated automatically.
How Big Pharma Holds Back in the War on Cancer|ProPublica|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dylan, age 18, says his favorite pre-date ritual is to pump his ego.
17 Terrible Pieces of Advice from ‘Seventeen’s’ Ultimate Guide to Guys|Erin Cunningham|January 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Xi will continue to walk tall on the world stage and to pump Chinese nationalism, especially against the old enemy, Japan.
The Person of 2013 Is… Xi Jinping|Jonathan Fenby|December 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We invented a trusted magical figure, turned him into a home wrecker, and pump those lyrics into the backseat all December long.
How Santa Hurts Christmas|Candida Moss|December 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Dot herself hated working the pump—it blistered her little hands.
An Australian Lassie|Lilian Turner
The best position for the pump is facing the head of the ladder, and about six feet from it.
Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare|C. W. Sleeman
They all then left the barn, and William went to wash his nose at the pump.
The Fairchild Family|Mary Martha Sherwood
There are 91 suction and 91 delivery valves at each end of the pump.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 492, June 6, 1885|Various
Supplied by one injector and one pump, or two brass pumps, with valves and cages of best hard metal accurately fitted.
Illustrated Catalogue of Locomotives|M. Baird, et. al..
British Dictionary definitions for pump (1 of 2)
pump1
/ (pʌmp) /
noun
any device for compressing, driving, raising, or reducing the pressure of a fluid, esp by means of a piston or set of rotating impellers
biologya mechanism for the active transport of ions, such as protons, calcium ions, and sodium ions, across cell membranesa sodium pump
verb
(when tr, usually foll by from, out, into, away, etc) to raise or drive (air, liquid, etc, esp into or from something) with a pump or similar device
(tr; usually foll by in or into)to supply in large amountsto pump capital into a project
(tr)to deliver (shots, bullets, etc) repeatedly with great force
to operate (something, esp a handle or lever) in the manner of a pump or (of something) to work in this wayto pump the pedals of a bicycle
(tr)to obtain (information) from (a person) by persistent questioning
(intr; usually foll by from or out of)(of liquids) to flow freely in large spurtsoil pumped from the fissure
Word Origin for pump
C15: from Middle Dutch pumpe pipe, probably from Spanish bomba, of imitative origin
British Dictionary definitions for pump (2 of 2)
pump2
/ (pʌmp) /
noun
a low-cut low-heeled shoe without fastenings, worn esp for dancing
a type of shoe with a rubber sole, used in games such as tennis; plimsoll