1
: a piece or mass of indefinite size and shape
a lump of coal
a lump of clay
2
3
: protuberance
especially
: an abnormal swelling
came to with nothing more than a lump on his head
4
: a person who is heavy and awkward
a lump of a man
also
: one who is stupid or dull
lumped; lumping; lumps
1
: to group indiscriminately
2
: to make into lumps
also
: to make lumps on or in
3
: to move noisily and clumsily
Synonyms
Examples of lump in a Sentence
Noun
turning a lump of clay into a beautiful pot
He got a lump on his head after bumping into the doorway.
Verb (1)
when we lumped all of our pocket change together, we found that we had just enough a buy a carton of ice cream
while I was on crutches, I was lumping about the house like an elephant
Recent Examples on the Web
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024
The Olympic champion discovered a lump in her neck back in May and went straight to her doctor, who ordered her to get an MRI scan to check the lump out.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 18 Oct. 2024
Maya Goldman, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024
During the pandemic, media outlets had reported similar data on Asian hate in gross aggregate—violent crimes were sometimes lumped together with stray insults—which members of Congress and state legislators then used to drive more funding to law enforcement.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2024
Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 6 May 2024
The Malaysian government has offered monthly assistance to the unemployed and lump payments to workers in certain sectors.
—Matt Apuzzo, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2020
See all Example Sentences for lump 
Noun
Enter a former Banning junior varsity coach, Malcolm Manuel, who took his lumps when going 2-9 in 2021 (including a 49-0 loss to San Pedro) and 6-7 in 2022 (including a 46-7 loss to Carson).
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024
The Olympic champion discovered a lump in her neck back in May and went straight to her doctor, who ordered her to get an MRI scan to check the lump out.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 18 Oct. 2024
Verb
But every agency that offers assistance programs has its own rules and restrictions around what counts as income, meaning benefits on the cards could be lumped with other sources of income.
—Maya Goldman, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024
During the pandemic, media outlets had reported similar data on Asian hate in gross aggregate—violent crimes were sometimes lumped together with stray insults—which members of Congress and state legislators then used to drive more funding to law enforcement.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2024
Adjective
Choose from two of the following: Premium choice chateaubriand cut filet mignon, lump crab cakes, and Chilean sea bass cakes, whipped potatoes with rosemary, asparagus with red peppers and sea salt butter, and eight chocolate dipped strawberries.
—Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 6 May 2024
The Malaysian government has offered monthly assistance to the unemployed and lump payments to workers in certain sectors.
—Matt Apuzzo, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2020
See all Example Sentences for lump
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lump.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lump
Cite this Entry
“Lump.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lump. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lump
2 of 3 adjective
: not divided into parts : whole
a lump sum
lump
3 of 3 verb1
: to group together
2
: to move noisily and clumsily
3
: to form into a lump
Medical Definition
lump
noun1
: a piece or mass of indefinite size and shape
2
: an abnormal mass or swelling
presenting as a neck lump
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