lump

/ləmp/

/ləmp/

Other forms: lumps; lumped; lumping

If it's hard to determine its shape and otherwise looks like a big blob of something, it's probably safe to call it a lump.

Jabba the Hut looks like a disgusting lump. So does the growing mound on your noggin where you walked into the glass door. And if you've been lumped together with a bad bunch, you might have been grouped with people indiscriminately. But all lumps aren't bad. Little old ladies put lumps of sugar into their tea. And that choked up feeling you get during a sappy movie? That's just a lump in your throat.

Definitions of lump

1. noun

   a compact mass
   synonyms: ball, chunk, clod, clump, glob

   types:

   clot, coagulum

   a lump of material formed from the content of a liquid

   gob

   a lump of slimy stuff

   clew

   a ball of yarn or cord or thread

   thrombus

   a blood clot formed within a blood vessel and remaining attached to its place of origin

   embolus

   an abnormal particle (e.g. an air bubble or part of a clot) circulating in the blood

   type of:

   agglomeration

   a jumbled collection or mass
2. noun

   an abnormal protuberance or localized enlargement
   synonyms: puffiness, swelling

   types:

   spermatocele

   a swelling on the epididymis or the testis; usually contains spermatozoa

   bloat

   swelling of the rumen or intestinal tract of domestic animals caused by excessive gas

   bunion

   a painful swelling of the bursa of the first joint of the big toe

   dropsy, edema, hydrops, oedema

   swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities

   haematocele, haematocoele, hematocele, hematocoele

   swelling caused by blood collecting in a body cavity (especially a swelling of the membrane covering the testis)

   intumescence, intumescency

   swelling up with blood or other fluids (as with congestion)

   iridoncus

   swelling of the iris of the eye

   lymphogranuloma

   swelling of a lymph node

   oscheocele, oscheocoele

   swelling of the scrotum

   tumidity, tumidness

   slight swelling of an organ or part

   Quincke's edema, angioedema, atrophedema, giant hives, periodic edema

   recurrent large circumscribed areas of subcutaneous edema; onset is sudden and it disappears within 24 hours; seen mainly in young women, often as an allergic reaction to food or drugs

   lymphedema

   swelling (usually in the legs) caused by lymph accumulating in the tissues in the affected areas

   scleredema

   a skin disease marked by hard edema of the tissue usually beginning in the face

   cystoid macular edema

   a specific pattern of swelling in the central retina

   anasarca

   generalized edema with accumulation of serum in subcutaneous connective tissue

   chemosis

   edema of the mucous membrane of the eyeball and eyelid lining

   papilledema

   swelling of the optic disc (where the optic nerve enters the eyeball); usually associated with an increase in intraocular pressure

   brain edema, cerebral edema

   swelling of the brain due to the uptake of water in the neuropile and white matter

   tumescence

   tumidity resulting from the presence of blood or other fluid in the tissues

   haematoma, hematoma

   a localized swelling filled with blood

   type of:

   symptom

   (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease

   enlargement

   the state of being enlarged
3. noun

   a large piece of something without definite shape
   “a lump of coal”

   synonyms: hunk

   types:

   nodule

   (mineralogy) a small rounded lump of mineral substance (usually harder than the surrounding rock or sediment)

   nugget

   a solid lump of a precious metal (especially gold) as found in the earth

   geode

   (mineralogy) a hollow rock or nodule with the cavity usually lined with crystals

   type of:

   part, piece

   a portion of a natural object
4. verb

   put together indiscriminately
   “lump together all the applicants”

   synonyms: chunk

   type of:

   accumulate, amass, collect, compile, hoard, pile up, roll up

   get or gather together
5. verb

   group or chunk together in a certain order or place side by side
   synonyms: chunk, collocate

   type of:

   group

   arrange into a group or groups
6. noun

   an awkward, foolish person
   synonyms: ape, clod, gawk, goon, lout, lubber, lummox, nimrod, oaf, stumblebum

   type of:

   clumsy person

   a person with poor motor coordination