lump

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Medicine

n. a hard area or swelling on or under the skin.

n. a protuberance or localized swelling on the body, often indicating injury or infection.

“You should see a doctor if you find a strange lump on your neck.”

“The patient reported a small, painless lump in his armpit that had appeared shortly after he recovered from a viral infection.”

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Cooking

n. a small square or piece of sugar for tea or coffee.

n. a small, pre-measured cube or mass of sugar.

“Would you like one lump of sugar or two in your tea?”

“The traditional tea service included a silver bowl filled with sugar lumps and a pair of matching tongs.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to put different things into the same group, even if they are not the same.

v. to group or categorize disparate items together, often in a careless or oversimplified manner.

“You shouldn't lump all teenagers together as if they all behave the same way.”

“Critics argued that the report unfairly lumped several distinct social issues together, failing to address the unique causes of each problem.”

C1 · Advanced Informal

v. to accept a situation you do not like because you cannot change it.

v. to endure or tolerate an unpleasant situation; almost exclusively used in the idiom 'like it or lump it'.

“The office is moving to the city centre, so we just have to like it or lump it.”

“The new regulations are mandatory for all staff members; they will simply have to like it or lump it until the next review cycle.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Informal · Humorous

n. a person who is heavy, slow, or lazy.

n. a person perceived as being physically large, clumsy, or mentally dull.

“Get off the sofa, you big lump, and help me with the shopping.”

“He was a great, silent lump of a man who rarely spoke but was surprisingly efficient at heavy manual labour.”