English

Noun

bumper ‎(plural bumpers)

1. (obsolete) A drinking vessel filled to the brim.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, p. 443:

     they now shook hands heartily, and drank bumpers of strong beer to healths which we think proper to bury in oblivion.

   • 1818, Keats, Written in the cottage where Burns was born:

     Yet can I gulp a bumper to thy name,—

     O smile among the shades, for this is fame!

   • 1859, Dickens, A tale of two cities, chapter 11

     Sydney Carton drank the punch at a great rate; drank it by bumpers, looking at his friend.

2. (colloquial, now chiefly attributive) Anything large or successful.
3. (automotive) Parts at the front and back of a vehicle which are meant to absorb the impact of a collision; fender
4. Any mechanical device used to absorb an impact, soften a collision, or protect against impact
   • The company sells ****-on rubber bumpers and feet.
5. Someone or something that bumps.
6. (cricket) A bouncer.
7. (billiards) A side wall of a pool table.
8. (broadcasting) A short ditty or jingle used to separate a show from the advertisements.
9. (slang, dated) A covered house at a theatre, etc., in honour of some favourite performer.
10. (slang, Caribbean) A woman's posterior, particulary one that is considered full and desirable.
11. (music) An extra musician (not notated in the score) who assists the principal French horn by playing less-exposed passages, so that the principal can save their 'lip' for difficult solos. Also applied to other sections of the orchestra.

Translations

Adjective

bumper ‎(not comparable)

1. (colloquial) Large; filled to the bumpers at the top of a silo.

   We harvested a bumper crop of arugula and parsnips this year.

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʏmpər/

Etymology

From English bumper.

Noun

bumper m ‎(plural bumpers, diminutive bumpertje n)

1. bumper of a car