lumpy

Momentum investing has paid huge dividends over time, and it is strongly endorsed by academic research, but the returns can be lumpy — you will occasionally get a very nasty spell of underperformance.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

There are a few lumpy patches, moments when the revision over-explains itself or belabors a point.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Company executives have argued that bookings weren’t an accurate reflection of business momentum as they can be lumpy between quarters, and decided to forgo the metric.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

Accountants try to match big, lumpy investments with the yearslong income they produce by pretending the spending is stretched out.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

This place is okay except for the lumpy gravy and lousy pillow.

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor

A uniform signal would favor meteoritic fallout, whereas a lumpier distribution, and the presence of minerals that hint at microbe-fueling reactions, could be a sign of life—and a green light to drill a sample.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 25, 2020

The lines did look lumpier than expected, but I wasn’t prepared for the taste.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 18, 2019

Act 2 gets lumpier, as Nick struggles to concoct a show destined to be “something rotten” — like the state of Hamlet’s Denmark.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2017

Opposite Billy would sit Mako, big brother in every way - two years older, heavier and lumpier, now England's loose-head prop.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2013

The cushions felt lumpier on the ground than they’d been on the couch, and they kept sliding apart beneath her.

From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder

But inside the square head of this butcher's son is a fantastically retentive brain that gobbles up details of technology and digests the lumpiest government problem.

From Time Magazine Archive

Babulya sat across the table, knitting the lumpiest scarf Anya had ever seen.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack