lump
/lʌmp/noun, verb
lump is spelled L-U-M-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.1 times per million words in written English, the 11,015th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lump means “Something that protrudes, sticks out, or sticks together; a cluster or blob; a mound or mass of no particular shape” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lump is lumps.
How many letters and syllables are in lump?
| Letters | 4: L-U-M-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.1 times per million words; the 11,015th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lump?
Lump appears 5.1 times per million words in written English, the 11,015th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lump?
- /lʌmp/
- /lʊmp/
Lump has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lump.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lump?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as lump.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: plum.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lump
- lumps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lumping participle, present
- lumped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lump mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Something that protrudes, sticks out, or sticks together; a cluster or blob; a mound or mass of no particular shape.
Stir the gravy until there are no more lumps.
- 2
A swelling or nodule of tissue under the skin or in an internal part of the body.
Lumps in the breasts are an indicator of breast cancer.
- 3
A group, set, or unit.
The money arrived all at once as one big lump sum payment.
- 4
A small, shaped mass of sugar, typically about a teaspoonful.
Do you want one lump or two with your coffee?
- 5
A dull or lazy person.
Don't just sit there like a lump.
- 6
A fat person.
- 7
informalA beating or verbal abuse.
He's taken his lumps over the years.
- 8
A projection beneath the breech end of a gun barrel.
verb
- 1
To treat as a single unit; to group together in a casual or chaotic manner (as if forming an ill-defined lump of the items).
People tend to lump turtles and tortoises together, when in fact they are different creatures.
- 2
To bear (a heavy or awkward burden); to carry (something unwieldy) from one place to another.
- 3
To burden (someone) with an undesired task or responsibility.
- 4
slangTo hit or strike (a person).
- 5
To form a lump or lumps.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lump in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | masse, tas, protubérance, renflement, bosse, motte |
| German | Klumpen, Kloß , Stück (Würfelzucker m) |
| Portuguese | pelota, saliência , torrão |
| Spanish | bulto, grumo , terrón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lump come from?
From Middle English lumpe, from a Germanic base akin to Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to glide, go, hang loosely”). Compare Dutch lomp (“rag”), German Low German Lump (“rag”), German Lumpen (“rag”) and Lump (“ragamuffin”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).