Meaning & use
galumph
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Meaning
verbintransitivehumorousinformal
To move in a heavy, clumsy way that makes a lot of noise, often in a cheerful and awkward manner.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by a direction or place: he galumphed down the stairs.
Patterns
- galumph across something
- galumph down something
- galumph about
The puppy galumphed across the kitchen, knocking over two chairs.
My brother galumphed down the stairs in his big winter boots.
The children galumphed through the mud, shouting with delight.
Word forms
| third person singular | galumphs |
|---|---|
| past tense | galumphed |
| past participle | galumphed |
| -ing form | galumphing |
Common combinations
- galumph down the stairs
- The twins galumphed down the stairs for breakfast.
- galumph across the room
- The big dog galumphed across the room to greet us.
- galumph through the mud
- We galumphed through the mud on the way to the car.
- galumph about
- Stop galumphing about while the baby is sleeping.
- galumphing puppy
- A galumphing puppy bounded up to the picnic table.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lumber
- 'Lumber' emphasizes slow, heavy movement, while 'galumph' adds a comic, bouncing, noisy clumsiness.
- stomp
- 'Stomp' means stepping down hard, often in anger, whereas 'galumph' is clumsy rather than angry.
- plod
- 'Plod' suggests slow and weary walking, with none of the noisy energy of 'galumph'.
- blunder
- 'Blunder' stresses moving carelessly or blindly and bumping into things, while 'galumph' focuses on the heavy, awkward gait.
Opposites
Word family
- galumphing adjective
- moving heavily and clumsily, as in 'a galumphing puppy'
- galumphed verb
- the past tense, as in 'he galumphed upstairs'
Commonly confused: galumph or gallop?
galumph vs gallop
'Gallop' describes a horse's fast, smooth run, and is said to be one of the words behind 'galumph', which instead suggests clumsy, heavy movement.
Practice
The puppy ___ across the kitchen, knocking over two chairs on the way.
Choose one answer.
'Galumphed' describes heavy, clumsy, noisy movement that fits knocking over chairs. 'Glided', 'tiptoed' and 'floated' all suggest light, quiet movement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “galumph”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.