lumpy

English

Etymology

From lump +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlʌmpi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌmpi

Adjective

lumpy (comparative lumpier, superlative lumpiest)

1. Full of lumps, not smooth, uneven.

   Coordinate term: bumpy

   I don't know which was worse, the lumpy soup or the lumpy bed.

   • 1976 May 20, Richard Eder, “Film: 'Smile Orange,' Jamaican Story”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     The film makes fun of the lumpiest and palest set of tourists ever to carry plastic shoulder bags. It makes fun of an upwardly mobile hotel manager, married to a lecherous blonde.

   • 2013 March 21, Dennis Overbye, “Universe as an Infant: Fatter Than Expected and Kind of Lumpy”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     The universe appears to be slightly lumpier, with bigger and more hot and cold spots in the northern half of the sky as seen from Earth than toward the south, for example. And there is a large, unexplained cool spot in the northern hemisphere.

   • 2021 June 27, Jason Farago, “The Cézanne We’ve Forgotten How to See”, in The New York Times‎^[3]:

     With the bathers, especially, bodies harden into things. Torsos like clay. Buttocks like pears. More classically proportioned figures could be paired, on the same page, with squatter, lumpier piles of flesh.

   • 2024 May 29, Howard Johnston, “Network News: NIC criticises Government's West Coast 'do nothing' policy”, in RAIL, number 1010, page 16:

     The NIC warns that rail investment is being spread too thinly across too many projects, and calls for a proper long-term pipeline of projects, instead of the present stop-start policies dictated by the lumpy flow of money from HM Treasury.

2. Of a water surface: covered in many small waves as a result of wind; choppy.

Derived terms

• lumpily
• lumpiness
• lumpy dick
• lumpy jaw
• lumpy jumper
• lumpy skin disease

Translations

full of lumps

• Arabic: مُتَكَتِّل (mutakattil)
• Bulgarian: на буци (na buci)
• Czech: hrudkovitý, žmolkovitý, chuchvalcovitý
• Finnish: nystyräinen (fi)
• French: grumeleux (fr)
• German: klumpig (de)
• Ingrian: känkykäs
• Irish: fadharcánach, cnapánach

  Old Irish: cnoccach

• Latin: tūberōsus
• Maori: hōpūpū, huahua, pōkurukuru, pukupuku
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: klumpete

  Nynorsk: klumpete

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: грудвичаст

  Roman: grudvičast

• Spanish: grumoso (es)
• Swedish: klimpig

characteristic of a watery surface covered by many small waves because of wind, choppy

• Bulgarian: накъдрен (bg) (nakǎdren)
• Maori: hīngarungaru, hīnarunaru

Anagrams

• plumy

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlum.pɘ/
• Rhymes: -umpɘ
• Syllabification: lum‧py

Etymology 1

Noun

lumpy

1. nominative/vocative plural of lump (“good-for-nothing”)

Etymology 2

Noun

lumpy

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of lump (“piece of clothing”)

Etymology 3

Noun

lumpy

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of lump (“thrift shop”)