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Definition of "sump" [sump]

  • A low-lying place, such as a pit, that receives drainage. (noun)
  • A cesspool. (noun)
  • A hole at the lowest point of a mine shaft into which water is drained in order to be pumped out. (noun)
  • The crankcase or oil reservoir of an internal-combustion engine. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "sump" in a sentence
  • "Also, the sump was an above hole pump so it meant cutting the cap to fit the pipes in and sealing it with a couple of tubes of silicone."
  • "In the winter Francis had sat in the utility room downstairs, in the corner of the room called the sump area, a dugout rough and rusty looking, where the pipes all meet in vertical poles."
  • "The car and all its parts are original - even the oil in the sump is the very same as from 20 years ago."