bumper

1
[ buhm-per ]
See synonyms for: bumperbumpers on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person or thing that bumps.

  2. a metal guard, usually horizontal, for protecting the front or rear of an automobile, truck, etc.

  1. any protective rim, guard, pad, or disk for absorbing shock and preventing damage from bumping as a rubber-tipped doorstop or an old tire on the side of a boat.

  2. a cup or glass filled to the brim, as with beer.

  3. Informal. something unusually large.

  4. a person who molds bricks by hand.

  5. Foundry. a machine for ramming sand into a mold.

  6. a carangid fish, Chlorosombrus chrysurus, of southern U.S. and Cuban coastal seas.

  7. Television.

    • Also bump .Also called bumper tease . in a news program, a brief teaser coming at the end of a segment just before commercials, announcing or previewing a forthcoming story.

    • Also called commercial bumper, break bumper . a brief interval of music, graphics, or voiceover serving as a transition between program and advertising content.

adjective
  1. unusually abundant: Bumper crops reaped a big profit for local farmers.

verb (used with object)
  1. to fill to the brim.

Origin of bumper

1
First recorded in 1750–60; bump + -er1

Words Nearby bumper

Other definitions for bumper (2 of 2)

bumper2
[ buhm-per ]

nounAustralian Slang.
  1. the unconsumed end of a cigarette; cigarette butt.

Origin of bumper

2
First recorded in 1890–95; expressive coinage, perhaps blend of butt1 and stump + -er1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bumper in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bumper (1 of 3)

bumper1

/ (ˈbʌmpə) /


noun
  1. a horizontal metal bar attached to the front or rear end of a car, lorry, etc, to protect against damage from impact

  2. a person or machine that bumps

  1. cricket a ball bowled so that it bounces high on pitching; bouncer

British Dictionary definitions for bumper (2 of 3)

bumper2

/ (ˈbʌmpə) /


noun
  1. a glass, tankard, etc, filled to the brim, esp as a toast

  2. an unusually large or fine example of something

adjective
  1. unusually large, fine, or abundant: a bumper crop

verb
  1. (tr) to toast with a bumper

  2. (tr) to fill to the brim

  1. (intr) to drink bumpers

Origin of bumper

2
C17 (in the sense: a brimming glass): probably from bump (obsolete vb) to bulge; see bump

British Dictionary definitions for bumper (3 of 3)

bumper3

/ (ˈbʌmpə) /


noun
  1. Australian old-fashioned, informal a cigarette end

Origin of bumper

3
C19: perhaps from a blend of butt 1 and stump

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012