# lump

/ˈɫəmp/ (US) · /lˈʌmp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/lump
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. a shapeless mass

noun · CEFR B1

a piece of something solid that has no particular shape.

For teachers: a small, irregular mass of solid matter with no defined shape.

- He found a large lump of coal in the garden while digging.
- The sculptor began with a shapeless lump of clay, gradually refining the form until a human figure emerged from the raw material.

### 2. medical swelling

noun · CEFR B2

a hard area or swelling on or under the skin.

For teachers: 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.

### 3. sugar

noun · CEFR B1

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

For teachers: 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.

### 4. to group together

verb · CEFR B2

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

For teachers: 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.

Usage: Often used with the preposition 'together'.

### 5. to tolerate

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal

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

For teachers: 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.

### 6. a person

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · Humorous

a person who is heavy, slow, or lazy.

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- He put a lump of sugar in his tea.
- The doctor examined the small lump on the patient's arm to ensure it was not a serious injury.
- Geologists discovered a massive lump of quartz embedded deep within the granite, suggesting a unique cooling process during the mountain's formation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.