Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: INDUSTRY

pump

2 verb
     
pump2
1

move in a direction

[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to make liquid or gas move in a particular direction, using a pump
pump something into/out of/through something
The fire department is still pumping floodwater out of the cellars.
2

move from under ground

[transitive]TI to bring a supply of water, oil etc to the surface from under the ground:
We were able to pump clean water from several of the wells.
pump gas American English (=put gasoline into a car)
He got a job pumping gas for the hotel guests.
3

move in and out

[intransitive] also pump away to move very quickly in and out or up and down:
My heart was pumping fast.
4

use a pump

[intransitive] also pump away to operate a pump
pump at
The furnace man's job was to pump away furiously at the bellows.
5

come out

[intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a liquid pumps from somewhere, it comes out suddenly in small amounts
pump from/out of
Blood pumped from the wound.
6

ask questions

[transitive] informal to ask someone a lot of questions in order to get information from them
pump somebody for something
I tried to pump him for information about their other contacts.
7

drugs

pump somebody full of something

informalMD to put a lot of drugs into someone's body:
athletes pumped full of steroids
8

exercise

pump iron

informalDSO to do exercises by lifting heavy weights
9

medical treatment

have your stomach pumped

MH to have a medical treatment to remove things you have swallowed, using a pump

pump something into somebody/something

phrasal verb
1

pump bullets into somebody/something

informal to shoot someone several times
2

pump money into something

to put a lot of money in a project, investment etc

pump out

phrasal verb
1 if something such as music, information, or a supply of products pumps out, or if someone pumps it out, a lot of it is produced:
Music pumped out from the loudspeakers.
pump something ↔ out
propaganda pumped out by the food industry
2

pump something ↔ out

to remove liquid from something, using a pump:
You'll have to pump the boat out.

pump something/somebody ↔ up

phrasal verb
1TT to fill a tyre, airbed etc with air until it is full [= inflate]
2 informal to increase the value, amount, or level of something:
The US was able to pump up exports.
Come on, pump up the volume! (=play music louder)
3 to increase someone's excitement, interest etc
Definition of pump from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic INDUSTRY
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