hum
/ˈhʌm/ noun, verb, interjection, proper noun
Forms hums humming hummed
- noun A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed.
- noun An often indistinct sound resembling human humming. “They could hear a hum coming from the kitchen and found the dishwasher on.”
- noun Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive.
- noun (UK, slang) Unpleasant odour.
- noun (dated) An imposition or hoax; humbug.
- noun (obsolete) A kind of strong drink.
- noun (with article) A phenomenon, or collection of phenomena, involving widespread reports of a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming, rumbling, or droning noise not audible to all people.
- verb (intransitive) To make a sound from the vocal cords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed. “We are humming happily along with the music.”
- verb (transitive) To express by humming. “to hum a tune”
- verb (intransitive) To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly.
- verb (intransitive) To buzz, be busily active like a beehive. “The streets were humming with activity.”
- verb (intransitive) To produce low sounds which blend continuously.
- verb (UK, slang) To reek, smell bad. “This room really hums — have you ever tried spring cleaning, mate?”
- verb (transitive, UK, dated, slang) To flatter by approving; to cajole; to deceive or impose upon; to humbug.
- interjection Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c.
- interjection Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c.
- noun (informal, Malaysia, Singapore) Synonym of see hum (“blood cockles, ark clams”).
- proper noun A town in the central part of Istria, northwest Croatia, 7 km from Roč.
Synonyms
croon buzz bumble whirr bustle hustle funk stink honk niff pong reek smell stink to high heaven whiff blandish inveigle sweet-talk blandander butter up busyness Harkat-ul-Mujahidin Harkat ul-Ansar HUA Harkat ul-Mujahedeen Al Faran Movement of Holy Warriors humming seethe thrum
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English hummen (“to hum, buzz, drone, make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment”); akin to Dutch hommelen (“to bumble, buzz”), dialectal Dutch hommen (“to buzz, hum”), Middle High German hummen (“to hum”), probably ultimately of imitative origin.
Borrowed from Hokkien 蚶 (ham).
From German Cholm, from Italian Colmo.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To make a low, prolonged sound, like that of a bee in flight; to drone; to murmur; to buzz; as, a top hums. P. Fletcher.
- verb To make a nasal sound, like that of the letter m prolonged, without opening the mouth, or articulating; to mumble in monotonous undertone; to drone.
- verb To sing with shut mouth; to murmur without articulation; to mumble; as, to hum a tune.
- verb To express satisfaction with by humming.
Etymology [Of imitative origin; cf. G. hummen, D. hommelen. sq. root15.]
Etymology [Cf. Hem, interj.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hum”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details