lump
small solid piece of something
A small, solid piece of a material that does not have a clear shape, like a piece of sugar or clay.
a lump of [substance]
- He dropped a lump of sugar into his coffee.
- The recipe says to melt the butter, not just throw in a cold lump.
- There were unpleasant flour lumps in the gravy.
- She shaped the wet lump of clay into a small bowl.
- We found a lump of coal at the edge of the old railway line.
- She put one lump of sugar in her tea.
- There are lumps in this soup, so it is not smooth.
- He held a lump of wet clay in his hands.
- I bit a hard lump in the cake and almost broke my tooth.
small swelling in body tissue
A small, higher area you can see or feel in or under your skin, which can be from an injury or illness.
to find/feel a lump in/on [part of body]
- She went to the doctor after finding a small lump in her breast.
- The nurse checked the lump on his neck and ordered some tests.
- He hit his head on the doorframe and woke up with a large lump on his forehead.
- Any new lump under the skin should be checked by a health professional.
- The scan showed that the lump in his throat was benign.
- I felt a lump in my neck and got scared.
- There is a small lump on his arm after the fall.
- She is worried because she found a lump in her breast.
- The doctor said the lump is not dangerous, but they will watch it.
group together without distinction
To think of people or things as the same group, without seeing how they are different.
to lump [people/things] together
- It's unfair to lump all teenagers together as troublemakers.
- The report wrongly lumped small family firms in with multinational corporations.
- We shouldn't lump mental health problems under one simple label.
- They tend to lump all forms of online criticism together as abuse.
- Artists from very different traditions are often lumped together in the same exhibition.
- Do not lump all old people together. They are different.
- He felt hurt when the teacher lumped him in with the noisy students.
- The article lumps many kinds of games together as "addictive."
- You cannot lump this country together with its neighbors. It is very different.
heavy, slow, often lazy person
A word for a person who seems big, heavy, and slow, and often lazy or not very smart.
a great/big/useless lump
- Get up and help instead of sitting there like a great lump.
- Stop being such a useless lump and do something.
- He felt like a lump on the sofa after days of doing nothing.
- She called him a big lump for sleeping through his alarm again.
- He just sits on the couch like a big lump.
- My dad told my brother, "Don’t be a lazy lump. Go outside."
- She felt like a lump because she was too tired to move.
- I don’t want to be a lump who never does any exercise.
reluctantly accept something unpleasant
To accept something you do not like, because you cannot change it.
to lump [something]
- The price is going up, and customers will just have to lump it.
- You can complain if you like, but in the end you’ll lump it.
- He didn’t get the promotion and had to lump it.
- If you don’t like the rules, you can lump it.
- The boss said there is no money, so we must lump it.
- I do not like this job, but I have to lump it for now.
- You cannot change the exam date, so you will have to lump it.
- She was angry but knew she must lump it.
tight feeling in throat from emotion
A strange, tight feeling in your throat when you are very sad or moved and feel like you might cry.
a lump in [someone]'s throat
- He felt a lump in his throat as he said goodbye.
- With a lump in her throat, she thanked everyone for their support.
- The speech brought a lump to many people’s throats.
- I tried to speak, but the lump in my throat made it hard.
- I felt a lump in my throat when I saw my baby for the first time.
- There was a lump in his throat as he talked about his father.
- The sad movie gave me a lump in my throat.
- Her kind words put a lump in my throat.
move or lift something heavy
To pick up or move something heavy and hard to carry.
to lump [something] [somewhere]
- We lumped the heavy suitcases into the back of the car.
- He lumped the old television up the stairs on his own.
- They lumped all the chairs into one corner of the room.
- She lumped the bags onto the table with a sigh of effort.
- He lumped the big box into the truck.
- We had to lump all the bags up the stairs.
- They lumped the old sofa into the garage.
- She lumped the heavy books onto her desk.
- Base: lump
- Plural: lumps
- Base: lump
- 3rd Person Singular: lumps
- Present Participle: lumping
- Past: lumped
a lump in one's throat
1tight feeling in throat from emotion
A strong feeling in your throat when you are very sad or moved and feel you might cry.
- He felt a lump in his throat as he watched his daughter graduate.
- The story brought a lump to her throat.
like it or lump it
1must accept it, like it or not
Used to say that someone must accept a situation, even if they do not like it, because they cannot change it.
- The rules have changed, and you can like it or lump it.
- He told the team they would have to train on weekends, like it or lump it.
lump in with
1include unfairly in a group
To put a person or thing in the same group as others, in a way that does not feel right or fair.
- She hated being lumped in with the lazy students.
- Small independent shops are unfairly lumped in with big chains in the new law.
lump it
1accept something you dislike
To accept something bad or annoying because you cannot change it.
- If you don’t like the decision, you’ll just have to lump it.
- We can’t afford a pay rise this year, so the staff will have to lump it.
lump sum
1single full payment of money
A single large payment of money, instead of many small payments over time.
- You can take your pension as a lump sum or as a monthly payment.
- They offered to pay the damages in a lump sum.
lump together
1group things together carelessly
To put people or things in the same group, without seeing or respecting how they are different.
- The article lumps together very different political movements.
- Teachers often lump together shy children and rude children as simply "quiet."
one lump or two?
1asking how many sugar lumps
A polite question asking how many small pieces of sugar someone wants in their tea or coffee.
- Milk and sugar? One lump or two?
- She smiled and asked, "One lump or two?" as she poured the tea.
take your lumps
1accept deserved criticism or punishment
To accept criticism, problems, or punishment, especially when you know it is fair.
- He made a mistake, admitted it, and took his lumps.
- Sometimes you just have to take your lumps and learn from the experience.