pump

I. noun Etymology: Middle English pumpe, pompe; akin to Middle Low German pumpe pump, Middle Dutch pompe Date: 15th century 1. a device that raises, transfers, delivers, or compresses fluids or that attenuates gases especially by suction or pressure or both 2. heart 3. an act or the process of pumping 4. an energy source (as light) for pumping atoms or molecules 5. a biological mechanism by which atoms, ions, or molecules are transported across cell membranes — compare sodium pump II. verb Date: 1508 intransitive verb 1. to work a pump ; raise or move a fluid with a pump 2. to exert oneself to pump or as if to pump something 3. to move in a manner that resembles the action of a pump handle transitive verb 1. a. to raise (as water) with a pump b. to draw fluid from with a pump 2. to pour forth, deliver, or draw with or as if with a pump <

pumped money into the economy

> <

pump new life into the classroom

> 3. a. to question persistently <

pumped him for the information

> b. to elicit by persistent questioning 4. a. to operate by manipulating a lever b. to manipulate as if operating a pump handle <

pumped my hand warmly

> c. to cause to move with an action resembling that of a pump handle <

a runner pumping her arms

> 5. to transport (as ions) against a concentration gradient by the expenditure of energy 6. a. to excite (as atoms or molecules) especially so as to cause emission of coherent monochromatic electromagnetic radiation (as in a laser) b. to energize (as a laser) by pumping III. noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1555 a shoe that grips the foot chiefly at the toe and heel; especially a close-fitting woman's dress shoe with a moderate to high heel