pump

[ puhmp ]

/ pʌmp /

noun

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

1400–50; late Middle English pumpe (noun); cognate with German Pumpe, Dutch pomp

OTHER WORDS FROM pump

pump·a·ble, adjective pump·less, adjective pump·like, adjective un·pump·a·ble, adjective

un·pumped, adjective

Words nearby pump

pumelo, pumice, pumice country, pummel, pummelo, pump, pump box, pump gun, pump iron, pump lung, pump priming

British Dictionary definitions for prime the pump (1 of 2)

pump ¹

/ (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

biology a mechanism for the active transport of ions, such as protons, calcium ions, and sodium ions, across cell membranes a 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 amounts to 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 way to 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 spurts oil 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 prime the pump (2 of 2)

pump ²

/ (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

Word Origin for pump

C16: of unknown origin

Medical definitions for prime the pump

pump

[ pŭmp ]

n.

A machine or device for raising, compressing, or transferring fluids.

A molecular mechanism for the active transport of ions or molecules across a cell membrane.

v.

To raise or cause to flow by means of a pump.

To transport ions or molecules against a concentration gradient by the expenditure of chemically stored energy.

Scientific definitions for prime the pump

pump

[ pŭmp ]

A device used to raise or transfer fluids. Most pumps function either by compression or suction.

A molecular mechanism for the active transport of ions or molecules across a cell membrane.

Idioms and Phrases with prime the pump

prime the pump

Encourage the growth or action of something, as in Marjorie tried to prime the pump by offering some new issues for discussion. In the late 1800s this expression originally was used for pouring liquid into a pump to expel the air and make it work. In the 1930s it was applied to government efforts to stimulate the economy and thereafter was applied to other undertakings.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

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pump