pump

verb

Definition of pumpnext
1
as in to bob
to make short up-and-down movements the thighs of the bicyclists were pumping furiously as they neared the finish line

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to interrogate
to put a series of questions to prying neighbors pumped the guileless child for information about the family's new pool

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to drain
to remove (liquid) gradually or completely pumped water from the well

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 pump Fans expecting a national championship need to pump their brakes a bit, but there is no excuse for this team and coaching staff not to at least make the big dance in 2026. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026 The rest of the fields rely on water pumped from underground, and that’s also getting squeezed as California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act kicks in. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 The Bills have spent six months trying to patch up Pegula’s gaffe by pumping Coleman’s tires. — The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 20 July 2026 At the hospital, the doctor pumped Isul’s stomach and gave her fluids. — Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for pump
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pump
  1. bob
  2. interrogate
  3. drain
  4. shake
  5. examine
  6. jerk
  7. question
Verb
  • Kenzo leaned back so that his bobbing Adam’s apple was visible, and drank it down in one gulp.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Rapp and his crewmate, Suzanne Driscoll, hoisted a lobster trap marked by a bobbing buoy from the Casco Bay.
    — Natalie B. Compton The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of bob
Verb
  • To interrogate Fauci now, for absolutely no coherent reason and completely without sense, is shameful and disgusting.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Recognizing those forces in the world isn’t the same thing as interrogating them, and as a seasoned artist with real power in Hollywood, Gluck repeatedly mistakes implication for insight.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of interrogate
Verb
  • Your table is ready, the waiter said, and Rebecca drained her glass and stood.
    — Emma Cline, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Most of the region’s sewers were engineered generations ago to drain well under 2 inches of rain per hour, and a cloudburst can deliver double that amount.
    — Ravi S. Bhalla, New York Daily News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of drain
Verb
  • The heat now poses an additional danger to residents still shaken by the quake, many of whom are sleeping in their cars after their homes were damaged or destroyed.
    — Yumi Asada, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Chad Gable and Penta shook hands as Gable’s family watched from ringside.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of shake
Verb
  • Schrell examined whether annual production campaigns would be more effective, but concluded that the approach would not make economic or operational sense because of costs, limited hot-cell capacity and the isotope’s relatively short half-life.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Young Washington stars William Franklyn-Miller as Washington, which examines how a single misstep thrusts the future first president into the middle of a global conflict.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of examine
Verb
  • Stuttering lines, on the left, jerking up and down, denote the rattle of guns; on the right, the lines are all but flat, as silence descends.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Logan Howlett, got a tear-jerking send-off in James Mangold’s Logan.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026
Definition of jerk
Verb
  • He was detained, questioned and later released by authorities that same day.
    — Tristan Maglunog, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Gualtieri said the property tax ballot amendment is not the proposal that DeSantis first floated to voters and questioned why there were no protections for public safety funding.
    — Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of question

Phrases Containing pump

Browse Nearby Words

pummels
pump
pumped
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Cite this Entry

“Pump.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pump. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pump

Nglish: Translation of pump for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pump

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