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bumper

bumper

18 8.8
A glass filled to the top used for a toast
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌm.pɚ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : copa llena

Examples

  • Eva picked our first peas today, and said the prospects for a bumper crop like last year are not too likely.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Corinne drove to church in the mud-splattered, rust-speckled Buick station wagon with the bumper sticker 4-H: HEAD HEART.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • During the toast, everyone raised their glasses, and the host filled each one to the brim, creating a true bumper for the celebration.

  • At the party, we laughed and clinked our glasses together, making a bumper to honor the newlyweds.

  • As everyone gathered around the table, they filled their cups to the brim, ensuring a bumper toast that no one would forget.

Synonyms

glassful
vsbumper
1 1.4

An amount that fills a glass

is about a brimmed celebratory drink rather than a mere quantity
brimmer
vsbumper
8.5

A glass filled to the very top with a drink

is used mainly for celebratory toasts rather than any full container
rummer
vsbumper
  • Archaic
9.9

A large drinking glass with an egg-shaped bowl on a stem used for toasts

is about a fully filled drink rather than the vessel's shape or size

Compounds

A small label on a car bumper that shows a short phrase or picture

7 2.1

A small electric car at an amusement park that people drive to hit other cars on purpose

Traffic where cars are so close they hardly move

4 3.4

A much larger than usual harvest of a crop

A very large win that brings much money or attention

4.1

A bar attached to a car bumper that protects it from scratches and small hits

6.8

A tool that lifts a car by its bumper to change a tire

A sticker for a car with your own message or design

Surface Forms

bumper singular
bumpers plural

Morphology

bumper = bump (opaque) = bump + er

Although the form is historically related to 'bump' + '-er', the meaning 'a glass filled to the brim' is an idiomatic development that learners cannot reliably infer.

Etymology

Bumper once meant a glass filled to the brim, and one popular story says it comes from the verb bump 'to hit' or from people 'bumping' their glasses when they toast. So a bumper became a name for a very full, hearty drink used in celebration.