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pump
be under the pump
To be under pressure to perform, succeed, or achieve results. Primarily heard in UK. The fast-food giant has been under the pump in the last few years, as sales and market share continue to slide. An ageing batsman, I was under the pump to show that I still had what it takes to be a great cricket player.
put (someone) under the pump
To put (someone) under pressure to perform, succeed, or achieve results. Primarily heard in UK. The fast-food giant has been put under the pump in the last few years by dropping sales and sliding market value. The cricket community has really put the ageing batsman under the pump to deliver results this season, or else consider retirement.
under the pump
Under pressure to perform, succeed, or achieve results. Primarily heard in Australia. The fast-food giant has been under the pump in the last few years, as sales and market share continue to slide. An ageing batsman, I found myself under the pump to show that I still had what it takes to be a great cricket player.
all hands on deck
1. A call for all members of a ship's crew to come to the deck, usually in a time of crisis. (A "hand" is a member of a ship's crew.) We're under attack! All hands on deck!
2. By extension, everyone available to help with a problem, or a call for those people to help. Your grandmother arrives tomorrow and the house is still a mess—I need all hands on deck to help me clean! All hands on deck! We've got to roll out this tarp before the rain starts. Now let's go!
pump (some) iron
Sl. to lift weights for exercise. Andy went down to the gym to pump some iron. Mary's hobbies are pumping iron and running.
pump someone for something
Inf. to try to get information about something out of someone. The representative of the other company pumped Harry for information, but he refused to say anything. Are you trying to pump me for company secrets?
pump someone up (for something)
Inf. to get someone, including oneself, mentally ready for something. The coach tried to pump the team up so they would win. The coach talked and talked to pump them up.
pump something into someone or something
and pump something into try to force something, such as a gas, liquid, information, or money into someone or something. First you have to pump some air into the ball to make it hard. I pumped in the air. The hospital oxygen system pumped life-giving oxygen into Karen's lungs.
pump something out of someone or something
and pump something outto remove something from someone or something by force or suction. The doctors pumped the poison out of her stomach. They pumped out the poison.
pump something through something
to force something, such as a gas or fluid, through something. They pumped crude oil through this pipeline, all the way to the south shore. They pumped fresh air through the sewers while the workers were working inside.
pump something up
1. to inflate something. Do you have something with which I can pump my basketball up? I pumped up the ball just an hour ago.
2. Sl. to exercise to make muscles get bigger and stronger. The body builder pumped her muscles up in preparation for the competition. She pumped up her muscles.
pump iron
to use special equipment to strengthen your muscles The ads show people of all ages pumping iron.
pump somebody up
also pump up somebody to make someone very interested or enthusiastic Our coach talks with every team member before a game, offering advice and trying to pump them up. Taylor's band came out and pumped up the crowd.
pump up something
also pump something up to make something appear to be bigger or more successful than it is Opponents charged that the state treasurer pumped up the state's financial figures. We pumped the number of flights up to 500 in our report so everyone would think the airport was really busy.
pump somebody/something up
also pump up somebody/something to improve someone's or something's performance Athletes can take drugs to pump themselves up, but there are huge risks involved. Everett hopes the new products will pump up corporate sales.
all hands on deck
also all hands to the pumps something that you say when everyone's help is needed, especially to do a lot of work in a short amount of time We've got to get all this cleared up before they arrive so it's all hands on deck.
prime the pump
(mainly American) to do something in order to make something succeed, especially to spend money European governments and banks are priming the pump world-wide looking for alternative energy.
pump iron
(informal) to lift heavy objects for exercise in order to increase your strength or to improve your appearance These days, both men and women pump iron for fitness.
See prime the pumpprime the pump
Encourage the growth or action of something, as in Marjorie tried to prime the pump by offering some new issues for discussion. In the late 1800s this expression originally was used for pouring liquid into a pump to expel the air and make it work. In the 1930s it was applied to government efforts to stimulate the economy and thereafter was applied to other undertakings.
pump iron
Lift weights, as in She's started pumping iron three times a week. This idiom was born with the late-20th-century stress on physical fitness. [Second half of 1900s]
pump up
1. Inflate with gas or air, as in This tire needs pumping up. [Late 1800s]
2. Fill with enthusiasm, strength, and energy, as in The lively debate pumped us all up. Mary Wollstonecraft used this idiom in slightly different form in The Rights of Women (1792): "Lover-like phrases of pumped-up passion."
pump out
v.1. To force or suck something, as a liquid or gas, out of something by means of a pump: The contractors pumped the water out of the ditch. They pumped out the sewage that had flooded the basement.
2. To force the liquid or gas out of something by means of a pump: When the rain finally stopped, we rented a sump pump and pumped out our basement. The holes had filled with water, so the contractors pumped them out before pouring the concrete footings.
3. To flow out of something rapidly and forcefully: When the firefighters arrived, smoke was pumping out of the windows. Blood was pumping out, so the doctor tied a tourniquet around the patient's arm.
4. To produce something continuously and in large amounts: That factory pumps out a lot of toxic waste. Movie sequels continue to make money, and studios continue to pump them out.
pump up
v.1. To inflate something with gas by using a pump: We pumped up a new basketball before the game. One of my tires was getting low, so I stopped at a gas station and pumped it up.
2. To force or suck something, as a liquid or gas, from beneath a surface by using a pump: This well pumps up oil from underground. We pump the water up from the lake to tanks on the hillside.
3. Slang To fill someone with enthusiasm, strength, and energy; psych someone up: The crowd's chants pumped up the players. The coach pumped us up for the big game with a rousing speech.
4. Slang To be actively involved in bodybuilding exercises: The football players are always pumping up at the gym.
5. Slang To strengthen something: Pump up the volume on that stereo—I can't hear it. The economy was declining, but investors hoped that a favorable exchange rate would pump it up.
pump
1. tv. to press someone for an answer or information. Don’t pump me! I will tell you nothing!
2. n. the heart. (see also
ticker.)
He has the pump of a forty-year-old. 3. n. a pumped-up muscle. (Bodybuilding.) He’s tired and can’t quite make a pump.
pump ship
1. tv. to urinate. (Crude. From an expression meaning to pump the bilge water from a ship.) He stopped and pumped ship right in the alley.
2. tv. to empty one’s stomach; to vomit. (Crude. Less well known than the previous sense.) After I pumped ship, I felt better.
pump (some) iron
tv. to lift weights. Andy went down to the gym to pump some iron.
pump iron
verbpump (someone) up
tv. & in. to excite someone; to make someone enthusiastic. The coach gave a pep talk to pump the players up for the big game.
pump up
verbpump something up
tv. to flex and tense a muscle until it is expanded to its fullest size, as with thighs and forearms. (Bodybuilding.) She pumped up her thighs and struck a pose.
prime the pump
Informal To encourage the growth or action of something.
pump iron
Sports To lift weights.
all hands to the pumps
Help! The phrase comes from sailing days when a leak in the hull required immediate help in bailing out the incoming seawater. A variant is “all hands and the cook on deck,” meaning the entire ship's roster was needed in an emergency, even the cook, who was never expected to participate in mariner activities.
Common Names:
| Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
|---|
| Lhamo | | - | Tibetan, Bhutanese |
| Pedja | | - | Serbian |
| Sem | | SEM (Dutch) | Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Dutch |
| Vasyl | | - | Ukrainian |
| Teasag | | - | Scottish |
| Mario | | MAH-ryo (Italian, Spanish) | Italian, Spanish, Croatian |