How to Use sump pump in a Sentence

sump pump

noun
  • Clean out floor drains and catch basins and check sump pumps.
    — Nicholas Rondinone, courant.com, 18 Sep. 2017
  • The hum that comes up from our garage means the sump pump is working.
    — Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2023
  • No one wants to find out in the middle of a storm that a sump pump has quit.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Remove any debris from the tank or the screen at the base of the sump pump.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Klosterman says to make sure the sump pump has a battery backup.
    — Kristine Gill, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 June 2024
  • Install a sump pump to clear water in the event of flooding or heavy rain.
    — Dan Diclerico, Good Housekeeping, 3 Feb. 2022
  • Somebody comes to repair your sump pump and two weeks later, your sump pump breaks.
    — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026
  • Some sump pumps have a battery backup system.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Some older homes also do not have sump pumps, Barrick added.
    — Francesca Pica, jsonline.com, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Many providers offer sump pump, well pump and water softeners as an add-on.
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 8 June 2026
  • This sump pump design is more powerful than a pedestal sump pump and takes up less space in the basement.
    — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 July 2024
  • The drain then redirects the water out of the home via an exterior drain or sump pump.
    — Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Feb. 2023
  • The drain then redirects the water out of the home via an exterior drain or sump pump.
    — Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Feb. 2023
  • Buckley said firefighters shut off the power to the house, except to the sump pump.
    — Kimberly Fornek, chicagotribune.com, 16 Apr. 2018
  • The pipes direct water to an electric sump pump, which dumps it as far as possible from the house.
    — Jon Gorey, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Mar. 2022
  • Putting a sump pump with hoses discharging the water far from the home could be helpful if power is still on.
    — Minnah Arshad, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2021
  • On Tuesday, the city was filled with insurance adjusters, sump pumps and tears.
    — Evan Halper, latimes.com, 12 Sep. 2017
  • Every sump pump, every sandbag.
    — Da Lin, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026
  • The runoff overpowered their two basement sump pumps, flooding their basement.
    — Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2018
  • Additional coverage for items like a pool, sump pump, and leaky roof is available for a small fee.
    — Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Mar. 2021
  • Upgrades included solar panels and a new sump pump.
    — Michele Lerner, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • Installing a sump pump, smart water sensors, and more will also help defend your home against water.
    — Jessica Dailey, Good Housekeeping, 14 Oct. 2020
  • Her husband had always handled the finances, the cars, even the quirky sump pump system in their basement.
    — Joseph Coughlin, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
  • But raising money for drains and sump pumps isn’t easy, whether the hat is being passed among private donors or public agencies.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 9 Sep. 2025
  • There are fruit trees too, along with new rows of carrots and beets tucked in among the taller plants, a sump pump for gray water and giant piles of compost.
    — Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2019
  • A lot can go wrong with a sump pump, from electrical problems to clogs and malfunctioning switches.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Widowhood isn’t just a cause for mourning but a kind of sump pump for the psyche, voiding everything.
    — Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2021
  • Or a sump pump — yours or a neighbor’s — may be pumping water out of the basement and discharging it outdoors.
    — Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, 6 June 2018
  • Also consider installing flood vents, a sump pump in your basement, and a sewer backflow valve.
    — Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The readers deserve our fresh disasters, not the school we got expelled from two years ago or the sump pump failing last winter.
    — Kevin Fisher-Paulson, SFChronicle.com, 30 June 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sump pump.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: