pump

1 noun

1 (C) a machine for forcing liquid or gas into or out of something: water/air/beer etc pump (=for moving water/air etc) | hand/foot pump (=operated by your hand or foot) | petrol pump/gas pump (=for putting petrol or gas into cars)

—see also: stomach pump

2 (countable usually plural) BrE a flat light shoe for dancing, exercise etc: a pair of ballet pumps

3 (countable usually plural) especially AmE a woman's plain shoe that does not fasten

4 (countable usually plural) BrE a shoe made of canvas (=thick cloth) with rubber on the bottom, used for sports: Don't forget your pumps for PE.

5 (C) an act of pumping

6 all hands to the pumps used to say that everyone must work hard because a very difficult job has to be done

—see also: heat pump, prime the pump prime 3 (4), parish pump 2 verb

1 (transitive always + adv/prep) to make liquid or gas move in a particular direction with a pump: pump sth into/out of/through etc: The fire department are still pumping floodwater out of the cellars. | pump gas AmE (=put petrol into your car at a petrol station)

2 also pump away (I) to move very quickly in and out or up and down: My heart was pumping fast.

3 also pump away (I) to operate a pump: He pumped away furiously.

4 (T) to bring a supply of water, oil etc to the surface from under the ground

5 (intransitive always + adv/prep) when a liquid pumps from somewhere, it comes out in sudden small amounts

(+ from/out of etc): The blood was pumping from the wound in his thigh.

6 (T) informal to ask someone a lot of questions, in order to find out something: pump sb for sth: I tried to pump him for information about their other contacts.

7 pump sb full of sth to put a lot of drugs into someone's body: athletes pumped full of steroids

8 pump iron informal to do exercises by lifting heavy weights

9 have your stomach pumped to have the contents of your stomach removed by a pump, after swallowing something harmful

pump sth into sb/sth phrasal verb (T) pump bullets into sb/sth informal to shoot someone several times pump out phrasal verb

1 (I, T) if something such as music, information, or a supply of products is pumped out or pumps out, a lot of it is produced: There's a huge amount of propaganda pumped out by the food industry. | Music pumped out from the loudspeakers overhead.

2 (transitive pump something out) to remove liquid from something using a pump: You'll have to pump the boat out.

pump sth up phrasal verb (T)

1 to fill a tyre, airbed etc with air until it is correctly filled; inflate (1)

2 to increase the value, amount etc of something: The US was able to pump up exports.

3 pump up the music/volume etc slang to play music louder

pump sb up (T) to increase someone's excitement, interest etc: He was really pumped up before the game.