lump
noun /lʌmp/
/lʌmp/
Idioms - a piece of something hard or solid, usually without a particular shape
- a lump of coal/cheese/wood
- This sauce has lumps in it.
Extra Examples- a heavy lump of clay
- He put a few more lumps of coal on the fire.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- giant
- great
- …
- have
- detect
- discover
- …
- form
- grow
- (informal) (also sugar lump (British English), North American English sugar cube)a small cube of sugar, used in cups of tea or coffee
- One lump or two?
- a swelling (= an area that is larger and rounder than normal) under the skin, sometimes a sign of serious illness
- He was unhurt apart from a lump on his head.
- Check your breasts for lumps every month.
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessc1- He's developed a painful lump on his neck.
- She felt a lump in her breast.
- Surgeons operated to remove the lump.
- Tests confirmed the lump was cancerous.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- giant
- great
- …
- have
- detect
- discover
- …
- form
- grow
- (especially British English, informal) a heavy, lazy or stupid person
- He’s a big fat lump.
Word Originnoun Middle English: perhaps from a Germanic base meaning ‘shapeless piece’; compare with Danish lump ‘lump’, Norwegian and Swedish dialect lump ‘block, log’, and Dutch lomp ‘rag’.
Idioms
have, etc. a lump in your throat
- to feel pressure in the throat because you are very angry or emotional
take your lumps
- (North American English, informal) to accept bad things that happen to you without complaining
- We made mistakes but we took our lumps.