From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsumpsump /sʌmp/ noun [countable] 1 TECDHthe lowest part of a drainage system, where liquids or wastes remain2 British EnglishTTCTEM the part of an engine that contains the supply of oil SYN oil pan American English
Examples from the Corpus
sump• The oil reservoir for the dry sump is mounted inside the gearbox to stop it cluttering the appearance of the bike.• This region contained the fuel sump tank.• Downtown businesses operated sump pumps as the subsoil water level rose.• The day we switched on the generator and the sump pump, everybody was standing there waiting, watching.• There is no way forward beyond; the sumps represent finality.• Swapping valves from used tanks to fresh ones, thousands of feet into the sump, was neither easy nor desirable.• The sump was the sole source of water for drinking and washing.Origin sump (1600-1700) sump “swamp” ((15-20 centuries)), from Middle Dutch somp or Middle Low German sump “wet ground” 