Explainer

What Does the Internet Slang BUMP Mean and How Should I Use It?

By Bryan M. Wolfe

Updated February 15, 2024

The word “bump” has many uses online and off. In the digital world, a bump is often used to shine the light on important posts or comments.

We’ve looked at many different internet slang terms; we present something a little bit different here. The term “BUMP” has many various meanings, including one that relates to posting comments online. So, maybe you’re wondering why do people say bump on social media. Here’s a closer look at the word bump and how to use it.

What Is BUMP Slang For?

Most specifically, BUMP means to “Bring Up My Post.”

Whether on Facebook, Instagram, or anywhere else where comments exist online, you might see someone posting the term and nothing else. Typically, this is followed by others posting the same single word. When this happens, someone is suggesting a previous post warrants extra attention. A series of bumps can increase engagement on the post and move it higher on users’ feeds. By doing so, more members with access to the post will see it in their feeds.

You can also use the word solely to alert others to something they might benefit from reading. “Bumping,” in this case, is a kind gesture on your part.

Besides Facebook and Instagram, you might also find the world on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Twitter, TikTok, and anywhere else where there are discussion threads.

Alternatively, instead of using the word BUMP, you can use the word “refresh” or the symbol “^.”

Other Meanings

Not surprisingly, the word means a lot of things in different situations. For example, a lump could be considered a bump, nodule, contusion, tumor, or cyst in the human body. In everyday English, you might have bumped your head or bumped into my car. Perhaps as a joke, one might say they’d like to bump someone off, which means to kill them. The word at hand is also used to describe a dose of an illegal drug, such as ketamine or cocaine.