See Also: pump(dictionary)
pump(2)(dictionary)
Pump(medicine)
pump(encyclopedia)
Air pump(medicine)
air pump(dictionary)
pump(1)(dictionary)
ion pump(medicine)
saliva pump(medicine)
Insulin Pump(health)

pump (iou)



pump verb. E16.
[from PUMP noun1.]
I.
verb intrans. Work a pump; raise or move water or other fluid by means of a pump. E16.
verb trans. Raise or remove (water etc.) by means of a pump. Freq. foll. by out, up. M16.
Juliette Huxley The gardener had to..pump up the water. Offshore Engineer The cuttings and solvent may be formed into a slurry..and then pumped to a..centrifuge.
verb trans. Free from water, air, etc., by means of a pump or pumps. Also foll. by down. M17.
F. Chichester I stopped..to pump the bilges dry with my..bilge pump. N. Sedaka They pumped her stomach.
verb trans. Put (a person) under a stream of water from a pump, either as a punishment or as medical treatment. Now rare. M17.
verb trans. Inflate (a tyre etc.) with air by means of a pump. Freq. foll. by up. L19.
II. transf. & fig.
verb trans. Force up or out esp. rapidly and in great quantity, as if by means of a pump; move around, pour forth or eject in this way. E17.
B. England The mortar was pumping star shell into the sky. Observer These groups pump out..magazines and news-sheets. J. Bronowski When he sprints..the heart is pumping five times as much blood as normal. Scientific American Data are pumped rhythmically..through the..network. Investors Chronicle The company has pumped some 30m..into land purchases.
verb trans. Subject to a persistent process with the object of extracting something; spec. question (a person) persistently to obtain information. Also, drain, exhaust. E17.
Muscle Power Boys..pumped me for my 'secrets' of training.
verb trans. Extract, raise, or create by means of persistent effort; spec. elicit (information) out of a person by such means. M17.
R. S. Surtees He might pump something out of the servant about the family.
verb intrans. Make a persistent effort, exert oneself in order to gain something; strive to obtain information etc. Freq. foll. by for. M17.
Thackeray To account for his admiration, the critic pumps for words in vain. Field & Stream Drake mallards sprung up out of the willows, pumping for altitude.
verb intrans. & trans. Copulate (with). coarse slang. M18.
verb trans. Arouse, excite; work up. L18.
M. Edgeworth I could not pump up any enthusiasm. New Yorker Everyone expected him to pump up the Party workers with enthusiasm.
verb intrans. & trans. Work or move with action like that of the handle or piston of a pump. E19.
J. Heller His brain was pumping with fragments of ideas. R. Thomas Martin ran faster, his legs pumping up and down.
b. verb intrans. Of mercury in a barometer: fluctuate rapidly as a result of sudden local variations of pressure or of mechanical disturbance. L19.
c. verb trans. Shake (a person's hand) vigorously. E20.
H. Robbins She watched her father jump up and..excitedly pump his hand.
verb intrans. = HUNT verb 8. rare. E20.
Physics. Raise (an atom or electron) into a higher energy state by (esp. optical) irradiation, esp. so as to produce a population inversion for laser action; excite (a substance or device) in this way. Freq. as pumping verbal noun. M20.
Phrases: pump iron colloq. (orig. US) exercise with weights as a body-building technique. pump ship colloq. urinate.
Comb.: pump-down the action of reducing the pressure of air or other gas inside an enclosed volume by pumping; pump drill a primitive drill in which the shaft is rotated by sliding up and down a crosspiece to which is attached a cord that winds and unwinds about the shaft; pump gun (orig. N. Amer.) a rifle with a tubular magazine and a sliding forearm.
pumpa'bility noun the quality of being pumpable L19.
pumpable adjective able to be pumped M20.
pumpage noun work done at pumping; the quantity pumped: L19.