Bumping is a process in which a solvent becomes superheated and then undergoes a sudden release of a large vapor bubble, explosively forcing liquid outside of a flask.
You may have tried using boiling chips in organic chemistry lab during a distillation experiment. Boiling chips are made of a porous material and have a nonreactive Teflon coating - they provide nucleation sites (extremely localized budding for gaseous bubbles) so the liquid boils smoothly/more easily. The air bubbles break the surface tension of the liquid being heated and prevent superheating and bumping.
An ebulliator can also be lowered into a distillation flask to introduce small air bubbles - this serves the same function as boiling chips.