lumpy

UK: /ˈlʌmpi/ US: (lum′pē)

Inflections of 'lumpy' (adj):

lumpier

adj comparative

lumpiest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

lump•y  (lum′pē), adj., lump•i•er, lump•i•est. 

1. full of lumps:
   lumpy gravy.
2. covered with lumps, as a surface.
3. heavy or clumsy, as in movement or style;
   crude:
   a lumpy gait; a lumpy narrative.
4. (of water) rough or choppy.

• lump¹ + -y¹ 1700–10

lump′i•ly, adv. 
lump′i•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

lumpy / ˈlʌmpɪ/ adjective (lumpier, lumpiest)

1. full of or having lumps
2. (esp of the sea) rough
3. (of a person) heavy or bulky

ˈlumpily adverb

ˈlumpiness noun

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

lump¹ /lʌmp/   n. [countable]

1. a piece or mass of solid matter without regular shape:
   a lump of coal.
2. Pathology a swelling:
   A blow to his head raised a lump there.
3. Informal Terms a clumsy, dull person.

adj. [before a noun]

4. not divided or separated:
   to pay a debt in a lump sum.

v. 

5. to (cause to) be united into one collection or mass: [~ + object + together]
   We lumped the red and blue marbles together.
   [~ + together + object]
   We lumped together the red and blue marbles.
   [~ + together]
   The red blood cells lumped together.
6. to deal with, consider, etc., in a lump or mass: [~ + together + object]
   to lump together unrelated matters.
   [~ + object + together]
   lumps unrelated matters together.
7. to move heavily and awkwardly:
   [no object] The heavy tanks lumped along.

Idioms

8. Idioms get or take one's lumps, to receive or endure hardship, punishment, criticism, etc.

lump•i•ness, n. [uncountable]
lump•ish, adj. 
lump•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

lump² /lʌmp/   v. [~ + object] [Informal.]

1. Informal Terms to put up with;
   accept and endure:
   If you don't like it, you can lump it.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

lump¹  (lump), n. 

1. a piece or mass of solid matter without regular shape or of no particular shape:
   a lump of coal.
2. Pathology a protuberance or swelling:
   a blow that raised a lump on his head.
3. an aggregation, collection, or mass;
   clump:
   All the articles were piled in a great lump.
4. Also called lump of sugar. a small block of granulated sugar, designed for sweetening hot coffee, tea, etc.:
   How many lumps do you take in your coffee?
5. majority;
   plurality;
   multitude:
   The great lump of voters are still undecided.
6. Informal Terms lumps, harsh criticism, punishment, or defeat:
   The new theory came in for some lumps when other scholars heard of it.
7. Informal Terms a heavy, clumsy, and usually stupid person.
8. Idioms get or take one's lumps, to receive or endure hardship, punishment, criticism, etc.:
   Without its star pitcher, the baseball team will get its lumps today.

adj. 

9. in the form of a lump or lumps:
   lump sugar.
10. made up of a number of items taken together;
    not separated or considered separately:
    The debts were paid in one lump sum.

v.t. 

11. to unite into one aggregation, collection, or mass (often fol. by together):
    We lumped the reds and blues together.
12. to deal with, handle, consider, etc., in the lump or mass:
    to lump unrelated matters indiscriminately.
13. to make into a lump or lumps:
    to lump dough before shaping it into loaves.
14. to raise into or cover with lumps:
    a plow lumping the moist earth.

v.i. 

15. to form or raise a lump or lumps:
    Stir the gravy so that it doesn't lump.
16. to move heavily and awkwardly:
    The big oaf lumped along beside me.

• 1250–1300; Middle English lumpe, lomp(e); cognate with early Dutch lompe piece, Danish lump(e) lump, dialect, dialectal Norwegian lump block

lump′ing•ly, adv. 

lump²  (lump), v.t. [Informal.]

1. Informal Terms to put up with;
   resign oneself to;
   accept and endure:
   If you don't like it, you can lump it.

• 1785–95; American; perh. identical with Brit. dialect, dialectal lump to look sullen, of expressive origin, originally