A bump is an unexpected hit or collision with something.
When you're driving and someone cuts you off, you might get into a traffic bump. Or if you trip on a rock while walking, that's a bump too. Sometimes a bump can be a small obstacle that you need to climb over, like a hill in the road. In other cases, it can be a rough spot that makes something unpleasant happen, like a pain after eating something spicy.
How common is "bump"?
Word bump is considered uncommon in modern English. It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
Definitions
noun
A light blow or jolting collision.
The sound of such a collision.
A protuberance on a level surface.
A swelling on the skin caused by illness or injury.
One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind. Also (metonymically) the faculty itself
Example: the bump of veneration; the bump of acquisitiveness
The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead.
The swollen abdomen of a pregnant woman.
A post in an Internet forum thread made in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
A temporary increase in a quantity, as shown in a graph.
Example: US presidential nominees get a post-convention bump in survey ratings.
A dose of a drug such as ketamine or cocaine, when snorted recreationally.
The noise made by the bittern; a boom.
(preceded by definite article) A disco dance in which partners rhythmically bump each other's hips together.
In skipping, a single jump over two consecutive turns of the rope.
A coarse cotton fabric.
A training match for a fighting dog.
The jaw of either of the middle pockets.
Music, especially played over speakers at loud volume with strong bass frequency response.
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verb
To knock against or run into with a jolt.
To move up or down by a step; displace.
Example: I bumped the font size up to make my document easier to read.
To post in an Internet forum thread in order to raise the thread's profile by returning it to the top of the list of active threads.
(of a superheated liquid) To suddenly boil, causing movement of the vessel and loss of liquid.
To move (a booked passenger) to a later flight because of earlier delays or cancellations.
To move the time of (a scheduled event).
To pick (a lock) with a repeated striking motion that dislodges the pins.
To make a loud, heavy, or hollow noise; to boom.
To spread out material so as to fill any desired number of pages.
