in the dumps

dumps

[duhmps]
noun
a depressed state of mind (usually preceded by in the ): to be in the dumps over money problems.

Origin:
1515–25; compare German dumpf dull, Middle Dutch domp haze

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To in the dumps
Collins
World English Dictionary
dumps (dʌmps) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
pl n
informal a state of melancholy or depression (esp in the phrase down in the dumps)
 
[C16: probably from Middle Dutch domp haze, mist; see damp]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
In the dumps is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dumps
"low spirits," 1523, possibly from Du. domp "haze, mist," from M.Du. damp "vapor" (see damp).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

dump definition


  1. tv. & in.
    to empty one's stomach; to vomit. : She turned green, and I knew she was going to dump.
  2. in.
    to defecate. (Usually objectionable. See also dump (one's) load.) : He dumped and then came back.
  3. n.
    an act of defecation. (Usually objectionable.) : He had a dump and then came back.
  4. n.
    a low or cheap establishment; a joint. : My mama didn't raise me to spend the rest of my days in a run-down dump like this.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

dump (one's) definition


  1. tv.
    to empty one's stomach; to vomit. : He's in the john dumping his load.
  2. tv.
    to defecate. (Usually objectionable. Also with a load.) : He had to go dump a load.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

in the dumps

see down in the dumps.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT