Sump Meaning
/sʌmp/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA hollow or pit into which liquid drains, such as a cesspool, cesspit or sink.
nounThe lowest part of a mineshaft into which water drains.
Sentence Examples
The sump was full of water and the basement started to flood.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mechanic drained the old oil from the engine's ____ during the repair.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ pump in the basement automatically removes any water that collects in the low and damp areas.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English sompe, either from Middle Dutch somp, sump or Middle Low German sump from Old Saxon *sump, from Proto-West Germanic *sump, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sumpaz. Doublet of swamp.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"then, seating himself thus, he replied to him of the east.—'Sounding sump o' rain Saunders Creeshmeloof—saw ye ever a drap o' rain for eight and forty hours after the bonnie sinking sun that sat sae red and sae lang on the summit of Blackwood hills this blessed afternoon? That starry plow o' thine is […]'"
— 1821, “Mark Macrabin, the Cameronian”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, page 147:
""Me and the lads did it this morn."
"It was pouring!" Brody said.
"If I was tae stop an activity because of a sump o' rain, I'd never get anythin' done," Finn remarked with a twinkle in his eye."
— 2024 January 23, Traci Hall, Murder at a Scottish Castle, Kensington Cozies, →ISBN, page 12:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mechanic drained the old oil from the engine's ____ during the repair.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ pump in the basement automatically removes any water that collects in the low and damp areas.