hump 1 of 2

noun

ˈhəmp How to pronounce hump (audio)
Definition of humpnext
1
as in pouts
British a state of resentful silence or irritability failing her A-levels has certainly given her the hump

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2
as in mountain
an elevation of land higher than a hill a cloud-capped hump straddles the border separating the two countries

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3
as in hill
an area of high ground the grassy hump at the center of the park is a popular sledding spot during the winter

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hump

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort the farmers had to really hump to get the harvest in before the rains

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2
as in to speed
to proceed or move quickly the boat was really humping before the motor started to sputter all of a sudden

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hump
Noun
Their findings, some previously covered in Fortune, draw on a deep dataset spanning dozens of countries to confirm that ill-being is no longer hump-shaped in age — the young are now the most miserable cohort globally. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 6 July 2026 In fact, while sand traps aren’t overabundant, elevation changes, natural grass humps and, yes, some sand does challenge you most every hole. — Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 18 June 2026
Verb
She and her son are seen posing in front of a mirror together, before Spears begins speaking in an English accent and seemingly simulating a humping motion while wearing tight shorts and a top that exposes her midsection. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2026 Contractors then humped it east around Orange Lake to Jacksonville, an eighty-mile slog. — Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hump
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hump
  1. pouts
  2. mountain
  3. hill
  4. struggle
  5. speed
  6. pet
  7. peak
  8. mound
Noun
  • Interspersed with Mellencamp’s idiosyncratic views of himself were old press shots of the singer, many without a shirt or showcasing pouts and flexed biceps, that fit the song’s wry message.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 30 July 2026
  • So how, exactly, did these polka-dot pouts make their way onto the mood board?
    — Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 25 June 2026
Definition of pouts
Noun
  • The Chinese state news agency Xinhua, citing the country’s water resources ministry, said a new lake formed after Wednesday’s floods high in the mountains had largely drained.
    — Victoria Milko, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Some thirty thousand tourists visited annually to soak in the mountain’s mineral springs and sip from a geyser of warm fizzy water.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of mountain
Noun
  • Instead, he’s spent August anxiously watching the orange skies from his house in the northern Nevada hills through two consecutive and adjacent wild-land fires, the Bug and Hawk Fires.
    — Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026
  • He was filled with ambition to see more of the country, write a spy thriller and literally climb more hills.
    — Andrea Javor, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of hill
Verb
  • Three days later, the team brought in Moody, the former Michigan standout who has also struggled at times in his young career.
    — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Restaurants and private grocery stores are struggling to stay open because of higher supply costs and lower consumption.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of struggle
Verb
  • Officers said Rodriguez sped out of the lot and fled the scene.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The next day, his rebuild group met, and one of the architects brought up prefabricated housing as an option to speed things along.
    — Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of speed
Noun
  • The county also has a litany of cooling centers that residents can take their families and pets to for relief from the the heat.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • How Flor made her way from the north side of Chicago all the way to Gary remains a mystery, but Ratkowski said the reunion is a good reminder of why to always microchip your pet.
    — Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of pet
Noun
  • While mega-cap pharma companies typically look to invest in assets that offer peak sales in the billions of dollars, Gayer has smaller targets in mind.
    — Brad Quick, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Up to half of the more than 200,000 mountain glaciers — vast, slow moving rivers of ice that creep across the world’s peaks — are expected to disappear by the end of this century, even if ambitious climate goals are met.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of peak
Noun
  • The grounds crew spent a few minutes working on the mound before the bottom of the fourth.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Ohtani had last thrown off the mound six days prior, in a live batting practice session last Saturday.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of mound

Browse Nearby Words

humors
hump
humped
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Cite this Entry

“Hump.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hump. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on hump

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hump

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