hum
verb
- make a vibratory sound
noun
- landform
- quiet steady noise
interjection
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L334134 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈhʌm/ / /hʌm/ / [häm(˦)]
intj
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.
- Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c.
“Hum! hum! What's all this?”
- Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c.
“Ah, now this is why we must proceed with great circumspection. They were both, hum, “put out” themselves.”
name
Etymology: From German Cholm, from Italian Colmo.
- A town in the central part of Istria, northwest Croatia, 7 km from Roč.
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Hokkien 蚶 (ham).
- Synonym of see hum (“blood cockles, ark clams”).
verb
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.
- 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.”
- To express by humming.
“to hum a tune”
“The team hummed “We Shall Overcome” as they came back onto the field after the break.”
- To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly.
“The leaves of the foreſt were loaded with manna, pure amber dropped from every bough, honey diſtilled from the rifted rock, and the humming bee, drunk with joy, ſtrayed from flower to flower, forgetful of his burſting cells.”
“A slight gloom fell upon the table. Jacob was helping himself to jam; the postman was talking to Rebecca in the kitchen; there was a bee humming at the yellow flower which nodded at the open window.”
- To buzz, be busily active like a beehive
“The streets were humming with activity.”
- To produce low sounds which blend continuously
- To reek, smell bad.
“This room really hums — have you ever tried spring cleaning, mate?”
- To flatter by approving; to cajole; to deceive or impose upon; to humbug.