prime the pump
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To take initial actions to stimulate a process or activity
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
thực hiện hành động ban đầu để kích thích một quá trình hoặc hoạt động
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to pour liquid into a pump to start it
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The government primed the pump with tax cuts to boost the economy
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “prime the pump” mean?
To take initial actions to stimulate a process or activity Literally: to pour liquid into a pump to start it
Is “prime the pump” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.