Pumped: definition and usage

Pumped: definition and usage

When you’re pumped /pʌmpt/ that means that you’re excited or thrilled about something that’s going to happen or already happened.

Let’s look at examples:

I was so pumped before Adel’s concert. 

“… and so I’m so pumped for you guys to hear from my dad on Friday.”

“… people standing everywhere. Ok, maybe there were a couple hundred, but it didn’t matter to me, I was pumped.”

“But have you ever been into the locker room of a winning football team? Everyone is excited. Everyone is pumped.”

Pump definition

As you might guess, the adjective pumped comes from the word pump. It’s a noun and a verb.

Pump (noun) is a device that we use to make liquid, air, or gas to move from one place to another. (See the picture)

pumps

There is a water pump, a bicycle pump, a fuel pump and an oil pump.

So, to pump means to force liquid or gas to move somewhere.

For instance:

Our latest machine can pump a hundred gallons a minute.

Russia’s second-biggest oil producer pumped 400,000 barrels a day.

In this context, to be pumped could be seen as you are literally pumped with excitement.

The pronunciation of pump is the same in both British and American English: /pʌmp/

Other meanings of pump

Pump (n) also means women’s shoes with a low-cut front without fasteners.

Initially, this type of shoes has a buckle or a black bow. (see the picture)

pump shoe

In Britain, they are known as ‘court shoes’ because they were a part of uniform required to be worn at the royal court in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nowadays there are various types of pumps.

pumps vs stilettoes

In the UK, “pumps” are also a flat shoe from heavy cloth worn by children for doing sports.

If you’re into the history and fashion check out the links at the end of the article.

Apart from its literal uses pump as a verb has some figurative /ˈfɪɡ.jɚ.ə.tɪv/ senses.

If you pump money into something, you spend a lot of money trying to make it successful.

For instance:

Millions were pumped into the economy but it didn’t save it from collapse.

Some other things could be pumped in something or in someone.

Must have had thirty pills pumped in him.

To get your stomach pumped is the opposite procedure that means removing harmful materials from your stomach. Officially it called known as gastric suction.

Reports usually pump their sources for information (They keep asking for information, especially in a way that is not direct).

Also, there’s a phrasal verb “pump up” which means strengthen and enlarge.

We can pump up our muscles

pump up muscles

or other things:

The US was able to pump up exports.

Let’s pump up the volume a bit.

Pump up is also means “to get people excited” or to “excite” people.

There’s a set expression “to pump up the crowd“.

It looks like this:

pump up a crowd

Okay, that’s it. As you can see, “pump” has many meanings. So, choose one, that you like the most, make a sentence and share it in the comments! It’s never hurt to practice.

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Additional resources: 

Why are they called pumps shoes

What It Actually Means to Get Your “Stomach Pumped”

PumpesVS Stilletos

Pump | dictionary 

Pump smth up | a dictionary

Explore and practice pump with Youglish

Vika
Posts created 124

One thought on “Pumped: definition and usage

  1. Politicians often try to pump up the crowd with promises that they never accomplish.

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