clump

Meaning

Noun

1. A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass.
2. A thick group or bunch, especially of bushes or hair.
3. A dull thud.
4. The compressed clay of coal strata.
5. A small group of trees or plants.
6. (historical) A thick addition to the sole of a shoe.

Verb

1. (ambitransitive) To form clusters or lumps.
2. (ambitransitive) To gather in dense groups.
3. (intransitive) To walk with heavy footfalls.
4. (UK, regional, transitive) To strike; to beat.

Synonyms

cluster

bunch

lump

tuft

bundle

group

flock

mass

clod

ball

thicket

chunk

clomp

knot

🪢

crowd

clunk

grove

clop

thump

glob

clot

thud

ball up

cake

🍰

wad

gobbet

bush

thumping

plunk

constellate

parcel

swarm

bump

concrete

collection

batch

clustering

herd

agglutinate

heap

bunch up

tussock

bop

clog

blob

billow

gob

caboodle

biff

amass

Translations

touffe

Klumpen

motte

grappe

bande

groupe

terrón

Gruppe

zolla

massif

friper

terròs

όγκος

Batzen

Haufen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/klʌmp/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: clompe

Inherited from Old English: clymppe

Cognate with German: Klumpen

Cognate with Danish: klump

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: klump

In summary

From Middle English clompe, from Old English clymppe, a variant of clympre (“a lump or mass of metal”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“mass, lump, clump; clasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *glembʰ- (“lump, clamp”).
Alternatively, possibly from Middle Dutch clompe or Middle Low German klumpe (compare German Klumpen). Doublet of klomp.
Cognates include Danish klump (probably from Low German as well). Compare Norwegian Bokmål klump.