What does "dump" mean?
A place where waste or garbage is left; a ground or place for dumping ashes, refuse, etc.; a disposal site.
Dump
/dʌmp/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A place where waste or garbage is left; a ground or place for dumping ashes, refuse, etc.; a disposal site.
- Grammar: dump is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: garbage dump, trash dump, abandon, abase.
- Useful contrasts: clean site, composting site, continue relationship.
- Usage evidence: You were about to dump her flat out, weren't you?
How to use "dump"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dump" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dump" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dump" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dump" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dump" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "garbage dump" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dump", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A place where waste or garbage is left; a ground or place for dumping ashes, refuse, etc.; a disposal site.
"a toxic waste dump"
- 2 A thick, ill-shapen piece. UK, archaic
- 3 A deep hole in a river bed; a pool. Northern-England
- 4 a place where supplies can be stored wordnet
- 5 A car or boat for dumping refuse, etc.
Show 18 more definitions
- 6 A lead counter used in the game of chuck-farthing. UK, archaic
"The capons were leaden representations of cocks and hens pitched at by leaden dumps."
- 7 (computer science) a copy of the contents of a computer storage device; sometimes used in debugging programs wordnet
- 8 That which is dumped, especially in a chaotic way; a mess.
- 9 a piece of land where waste materials are dumped wordnet
- 10 That which is dumped, especially in a chaotic way; a mess.; A disorganized collection of images posted on social media. Internet
- 11 a coarse term for defecation wordnet
- 12 An act of dumping, or its result.
"The new XML dump is coming soon."
- 13 A formatted listing of the contents of program storage, especially when produced automatically by a failing program.
- 14 A storage place for supplies, especially military.
"an ammo dump"
- 15 An unpleasant, dirty, disreputable, unfashionable, boring, or depressing looking place. slang
"This place looks like a dump."
- 16 An act of defecation; a defecating. euphemistic, often, slang
"I have to take a dump."
- 17 A sad, gloomy state of the mind; sadness; melancholy; despondency. plural-normally
"[…] doleful dumps the mind oppress […]"
- 18 Absence of mind; reverie.
"They see not what passes before their eyes; hear not the audible discourse of the company; and when by any strong application to them they are roused a little, they are like men brought to themselves from some remote region […]. The shame that such dumps cause to well-bred people, when it carries them away from the company, where they should bear a part of the conversation, is a sufficient argument that it is a fault in the conduct of our understanding, not to have that power over it as to make use of it to those purposes, and on those occasions, wherein we have need of its assistance."
- 19 A pile of ore or rock.
- 20 A melancholy strain or tune in music; any tune. obsolete
"Tune a deploring dump […]"
- 21 An old kind of dance. obsolete
- 22 A small coin made by punching a hole in a larger coin (called a holey dollar). Australia, Canada, historical
"Basically, to overcome an acute shortage of money in 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie bought silver dollars from Spain and then punched the centres out, thereby producing two coins - the ‘holey dollar’ (worth five shillings) and the ‘dump’ (worth one shilling and threepence). Talk about creating money out of nothing—the original silver dollar only cost five shillings! The holey dollar and the dump have been adopted as the symbol for the Macquarie Bank in Australia."
- 23 A temporary display case that holds many copies of an item being sold.
"The back of this display is constructed of a double row of cans which are interlocking. The double row is significant because it provides a source of stock to replenish the dump which will be located in the base of the stand."
Verb
- 1 To release, especially in large quantities and chaotic manner. transitive
- 2 knock down with force wordnet
- 3 To discard; to get rid of something one no longer wants. transitive
"The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.[…]It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber. Other liquids produced in the refining process, too unstable or smoky for lamplight, were burned or dumped."
- 4 fall abruptly wordnet
- 5 To sell below cost or very cheaply; to engage in dumping. transitive
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 drop (stuff) in a heap or mass wordnet
- 7 To copy (data) from a system to another place or system, usually in order to archive it. transitive
"to dump the ROM from a rare Nintendo game cartridge"
- 8 sever all ties with, usually unceremoniously or irresponsibly wordnet
- 9 To output the contents of storage or a data structure, often in order to diagnose a bug. transitive
- 10 throw away as refuse wordnet
- 11 To end a romantic relationship with. informal, transitive
"Sarah dumped Nelson after finding out he was cheating on her."
- 12 sell at artificially low prices wordnet
- 13 To knock heavily; to stump. Scotland, obsolete, transitive
- 14 To put or throw down with more or less of violence; hence, to unload from a cart by tilting it transitive
"We dumped the coal onto the fireplace."
- 15 To precipitate (especially snow) heavily. US, transitive
- 16 Of a surf wave, to crash a swimmer, surfer, etc., heavily downwards. Australia, transitive
"Blowing like a grampus from every orifice, I leaned on a passing wave which dumped me[.]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A city in Toledo District, Belize.
- 2 Donald Trump. US, derogatory, slang
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
clean sitecomposting sitecontinue relationshipdata condensation
Example
"You were about to dump her flat out, weren't you?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dump"?
Common synonyms include: garbage dump, trash dump, abandon, abase, abasement, abash.
How do you use "dump" in a sentence?
You were about to dump her flat out, weren't you?
How do you pronounce "dump"?
Pronounced /dʌmp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English dumpen, dompen, probably from Old Norse dumpa (“to thump”) (whence Danish dumpe (“to fall suddenly”)), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of falling, similar to thump.
Etymology 2
See dumpling.
Etymology 3
Cognate with Scots dump (“hole in the ground”), Norwegian dump (“a depression or hole in the ground”), German Low German dumpen (“to submerge”), Dutch dompen (“to dip, sink, submerge”).
Etymology 4
From dump, as a pun on Trump.