bump off: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Informal / Slang
Quick answer
What does “bump off” mean?
To murder someone, especially in a planned or deliberate manner.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
To murder someone, especially in a planned or deliberate manner.
To eliminate a person, often for criminal or selfish motives, typically associated with organized crime or thriller plots.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant regional difference in meaning or usage; it is equally recognized as slang in both varieties.
Connotations
Strongly associated with gangster and noir genres in both cultures.
Frequency
More frequent in fictional contexts (films, novels) than in real-world discourse.
Grammar
How to Use “bump off” in a Sentence
[Subject] bump off [Object][Subject] get bumped offVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “bump off” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The gang boss ordered his men to bump off the informant.
- He feared he would be the next to get bumped off.
American English
- The mob decided to bump off the witness before the trial.
- In the movie, the hero bumps off the villain's henchmen.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Never used in legitimate business contexts.
Academic
Not used; terms like 'homicide' or 'assassination' are preferred.
Everyday
Extremely rare in polite conversation; used for dramatic or humorous effect when discussing fiction.
Technical
Not applicable in legal or forensic terminology.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “bump off”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “bump off”
- Using it for accidental death ('He was bumped off in a car crash').
- Using it in formal writing.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is informal criminal slang and should not be used in formal or legal contexts.
It is highly unusual and not idiomatic. The term is strongly associated with killing people, especially in a criminal context.
'Bump off' implies a deliberate, often planned murder with a criminal motive, while 'kill' is a neutral, general term for causing death.
Yes, the passive form 'get bumped off' is very common in the slang usage of this phrasal verb.
To murder someone, especially in a planned or deliberate manner.
Bump off: in British English it is pronounced /ˌbʌmp ˈɒf/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌbʌmp ˈɔːf/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “get bumped off”
- “a bump-off job”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a car BUMPing into someone on purpose to make them fall OFF a cliff. It's a deliberate, criminal push to eliminate.
Conceptual Metaphor
ELIMINATION IS FORCIBLE REMOVAL (bumping someone off a list, off the map).
Practice
Quiz
In which context would 'bump off' be MOST appropriately used?