Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person who is neither neat nor stylish; a rumpled or dowdy person.
  • noun A person who is somewhat fat and unfit.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun slang Someone who is lazy, slovenly, or dull-looking.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Yiddish shlump; akin to German schlumpen, to hang loose, and English slump.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Yiddish שלומפּ (shlump, "stupid, foolish, or inept person")

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word schlump.

Examples

  • —Mets vice-president of media relations Jay Horwitz is, self admittedly, "a little bit of a schlump."

    Three Mets Decades, Only Two Days Off Jeff Pearlman 2011

  •   Just a few stalks will have a round-shouldered, introverted schlump like me oozing androsterone out of every pore!

    Celery: Viva Veggie Viagra! 2010

  • Mr. Lane, who started out in journalism helping compile Forbes magazine's billionaire scorecards, is an ingenuous narrator who likes to remind the reader that he was essentially a schlump living in a fourth-floor walkup while his glossies burnished the egos and tweaked the appetites of Wall Street's new wildcatters.

    Published and Perished 2010

  • And for all the attention and hype and fans who wear "Team Aniston" T-shirts, I bet she misses those days when she could just sit in the dark and be a schlump.

    Ken Levine: The Billionth Article on Jennifer Aniston 2009

  • Yes, Stump was almost eclipsed by the competition, by the other dogs competing in Best in Show, a standard poodle, a Scottish terrier, a puli, a Brussels griffon and a Scottish deerhound, but Stump proved to be no schlump.

    Erica Heller: The Year of the Geezer: The Triumph of Stump, the Sussex Spaniel 2009

  • Mr. Rogen, who's often cast as a likable schlump, gives an edgy, brave performance, making not even the faintest plea for audience understanding or sympathy.

    In 'Observe,' Rogen Is Memorably Superbad 2009

  • True, he usually plays more of a Type-B schlump than a Type-A captain, but he's cast as the Green Hornet to be directed by Michel Gondry, the antithesis of J. J. Abrams, so we'll see how he pulls off superherodom.

    Archive 2009-04-01 Fresca 2009

  • Mr. Rogen, who's often cast as a likable schlump, gives an edgy, brave performance, making not even the faintest plea for audience understanding or sympathy.

    Bad Mall-Cop, Good Mall-Girl lm JOANNE KAUFMAN 2009

  • Forgive me if the comics are unfunny or boring or whatever, Im in a schlump right now.

    dailycomic Diary Entry dailycomic 2008

  • The answer is probably the poor schlump taxpayers in Michigan and Florida, who already have financed two primaries that don't count.

    CNN Transcript Mar 5, 2008 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.