Bumper Meaning
/ˈbʌmpə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounSomeone or something that bumps.
nounA drinking vessel filled to the brim.
Sentence Examples
The car bumper absorbed some of the impact.
The traffic was very heavy. The cars were lined up bumper to bumper.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The car's front ____ was damaged in the minor fender bender yesterday.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car's ____ was damaged when it hit the post in the parking lot.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English bump Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English bumper From bump + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[T]hey now shook hands heartily, and drank bumpers of strong beer to healths which we think proper to bury in oblivion."
— 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
"Pork ſucceeds to Beef, Pies to Puddings: The Cloth is remov'd, Madam, drench'd vvith a Bumper, drops a Courtſey, and departs; […]"
— 1756 February 3 (first performance), Samuel Foote, The Englishman Return’d from Paris, Being the Sequel to The Englishman in Paris. A Farce […], London: […] Paul Vaillant, […], published 1756, →OCLC, Act I, page 27:
"Yet can I gulp a bumper to thy name,— / O smile among the shades, for this is fame!"
— 1818, John Keats, Written in the cottage where Burns was born:
"Mr. Horrocks served myself and my pupils with three little glasses of wine, and a bumper was poured out for my lady."
— 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 8, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
"Sydney Carton drank the punch at a great rate; drank it by bumpers, looking at his friend."
— 1859, Charles Dickens, chapter XI, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The car's front ____ was damaged in the minor fender bender yesterday.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car's ____ was damaged when it hit the post in the parking lot.