What does "rump" mean?
The hindquarters of a four-legged mammal, not including its legs
Rump
/ˈɹʌmp/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The hindquarters of a four-legged mammal, not including its legs
- Grammar: rump is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: buttocks, croupe, hindquarters, posterior.
- Useful contrasts: abdomen, complete legislature, entirety.
- Usage evidence: Sometimes I feel like kicking my own rump.
How to use "rump"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rump" 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 "rump" 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 "rump" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- 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.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rump" 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 "buttocks" 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.
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Final meaning check
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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 The hindquarters of a four-legged mammal, not including its legs
- 2 the part of an animal that corresponds to the human buttocks wordnet
- 3 A cut of meat from the rump of an animal.
- 4 the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on wordnet
- 5 The buttocks.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 fleshy hindquarters; behind the loin and above the round wordnet
- 7 A remnant, as in Rump Parliament.
"This is the rump of the C.L.C. branch to Southport Lord Street, which lost its passenger services beyond Aintree from January 7, 1952, whereupon the timetable between Gateacre and Aintree was greatly curtailed."
Verb
- 1 To turn one's back on, to show one's (clothed) backside to, as a sign of disrespect. transitive
"And when they succeeded in forcing themselves back upon the King, who loathed them, and had rumped them, they put the Great Seal into Commission, and omitted Lord Brougham's name in the list of the Cabinet."
- 2 To fuck. (Compare bum (verb).) slang, vulgar
"Rodrigo had also set eyes on a woman at court but I doubt he was rumping her in the hay, like I was with Maria. In Rodrigo's case, it was more a sort of teenager fascination of the unobtainable."
- 3 To cheat. UK, slang
"Seems this Stevie had a score to settle with some guy that had rumped him over a bundle of traveller's cheques and he thought by telling me this guy was the one that shot me I'd find him and kill him stone dead; […]"
- 4 To ramble; to move (or talk) aimlessly.
"[…] Mr. Turner. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Allegheny has been rumping around for several minutes and I think I ought to have a chance to rump a little bit."
- 5 To move (someone or something) around.
"Barney rumped him out to the step, but the kid hung onto the door. Wind roared into the cab. Cold. Slicing up Barney's trouser's legs, pressing his shirt. The rig's heavy treads machinegunned the pavement."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 The Rump Parliament of 1648-1653 and 1659-1660. British, historical
"Before executing Charles I, the Rump made it illegal to proclaim anyone else king to replace him."
Example
"Sometimes I feel like kicking my own rump."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rump"?
Common synonyms include: buttocks, croupe, hindquarters, posterior, rear, afterglow.
How do you use "rump" in a sentence?
Sometimes I feel like kicking my own rump.
How do you pronounce "rump"?
Pronounced /ˈɹʌmp/.
Etymology
From Middle English rumpe, from Old Norse rumpr (“rump”), from Middle Low German rump (“the bulk or trunk of a body, trunk of a tree”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rumpō (“trunk of a tree, log”). The ultimate origin could be related to Proto-Germanic *hrimpaną (“to wrinkle”) (Dutch rimpel and German rümpfen (“to wrinkle”)); outside of Germanic, compare Ancient Greek ῥάμφος (rhámphos, “crooked beak”). Cognate with Icelandic rumpur (“rump”), Swedish rumpa (“rump”), Dutch romp (“trunk, body, hull”), German Rumpf (“hull, trunk, torso, trunk”). In the sense of remnant, first attested in the Rump Parliament of 1648; its original meaning here was a reference to the rotten, unclean hindquarters of an animal, gradually morphing to refer to the "remnant" aspect of the Parliament rather than its perceived unsavory nature.