Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense hums, present participle humming, past tense, past participle hummed
1. verb
If something hums, it makes a low continuous noise.
The birds sang, the bees hummed. [VERB]
Within five hours, the equipment will be humming away again. [VERB]
There was a low humming sound in the sky. [VERB-ing]
Hum is also a noun.
...the hum of traffic.
There was a general hum of conversation around them.
2. verb
When you hum a tune, you sing it with your lips closed.
She was humming a merry little tune. [VERB noun]
He hummed to himself as he opened the trunk. [VERB]
humminguncountable noun
The guard stopped his humming and turned his head sharply.
3. verb
If you say that a place hums, you mean that it is full of activity.
The place is really beginning to hum. [VERB]
On Saturday morning, the town hums with activity and life. [VERB + with]
Synonyms: be busy, buzz, bustle, move More Synonyms of hum
4. convention
Hum is sometimes used to represent the sound people make when they are not sure what to say.
Hum, I am sorry but I thought you were French.
5. See also ho hum
6. hum and haw
More Synonyms of hum
hum in British English
(hʌm)
verbWord forms: hums, humming or hummed
1. (intransitive)
to make a low continuous vibrating sound like that of a prolonged m
2. (intransitive)
(of a person) to sing with the lips closed
3. (intransitive)
to utter an indistinct sound, as in hesitation; hem
4. (intransitive) informal
to be in a state of feverish activity
5. (intransitive) British and Irish slang
to smell unpleasant
6. (intransitive) Australian slang
to scrounge
7. hum and haw
noun
8.
a low continuous murmuring sound
9. electronics
an undesired low-frequency noise in the output of an amplifier or receiver, esp one caused by the power supply
10. Australian slang
a scrounger; cadger
11. British and Irish slang
an unpleasant odour
exclamation, noun
12.
an indistinct sound of hesitation, embarrassment, etc; hem
Derived forms
hummer (ˈhummer)
noun
Word origin
C14: of imitative origin; compare Dutch hommelen, Old High German humbal bumblebee
hum in American English1
(hʌm)
verb intransitiveWord forms: hummed or ˈhumming
1.
to make a low, continuous, murmuring sound like that of a bee or a motor
2.
to sing with the lips closed, not producing words
3.
to give forth a confused, droning sound
a room humming with voices
4. Informal
to be busy or full of activity
verb transitive
5.
to sing (a tune, etc.) with the lips closed
6.
to produce an effect on by humming
to hum a child to sleep
noun
7.
the act of humming
8.
a continuous, murmuring sound
Derived forms
hummer (ˈhummer)
noun
Word origin
ME hummen, of echoic orig., as in Ger hummel, bumblebee, MDu hommeln, hum
hum in American English2
(həm: conventionalized pronun.)
interjection, noun
1.
hem2
verb intransitiveWord forms: hummed or ˈhumming
2.
hem2
Examples of 'hum' in a sentence
hum
The humming sound came from the centre of the field.
Aidan Hartley THE ZANZIBAR CHEST: A Memoir of Love and War (2003)
That low humming noise you can hear?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
China needs to keep its export machine humming.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Then he heard the hum of a distant aircraft.
Christianity Today (2000)
And the constant hum of activity rubbed off in the best possible way.
The Sun (2016)
And hum or sing all day at my desk.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Some chose to hum along to the tune.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
An odd low hum fills the air.
The Sun (2013)
Can you hear the quiet hum of extinction?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
One to hum along to as you hug your favourite stuffed elephant toy.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There is only the hum of the machines to proclaim that these grey houses are the source of untold death and destruction.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The Hippodrome should hum again with live entertainment.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
She tucks them in, sometimes humming a song.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He's got competition for places humming.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Younger American policymakers hum to different tunes.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Now it was humming with activity, its hotels full of soldiers.
John Garth TOLKIEN AND THE GREAT WAR: The Threshold of Middle-earth (2003)
In short, a low hum makes you feel uneasy and think you see things moving.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The low sweet humming sound went on, sometimes stopping for a little while and then beginning again.
George MacDonald The Princess and the Goblin (1872)
There was a lot of hum and noise in the barn because it wasn't designed for recording.
The Sun (2014)
Sometimes it is your individual heart, as you hum a lucky tune or mutter a childhood prayer.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Britain's top performance venues have come up with a radical way to keep the lights up and sound systems humming.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The whole place was humming.
Giles Whittell Spitfire Women of World War II (2007)
But not a soul was near, and no sound could be heard except the rustling of the wind and the hum of little insects.
Johanna Spyri Heidi (1881)
Which isn't to say that you leave the theatre humming the songs, exactly.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
As for the wildlife, not only is the hum of insects and sand flies deafening, but all three of us have been bitten mercilessly.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
hum
British English: hum /hʌm/ VERB
If something hums, it makes a low continuous noise.
The birds sang, the bees hummed.
American English: hum
Arabic: يُهِمَّهُمُ
Brazilian Portuguese: zumbir
Chinese: 嗡嗡叫
Croatian: pjevušiti
Czech: bzučet
Danish: summe
Dutch: zoemen
European Spanish: zumbar
Finnish: surista
French: fredonner
German: summen
Greek: βουΐζω
Italian: canticchiare
Japanese: ブンブンいう
Korean: 윙윙거리다
Norwegian: surre
Polish: zabrzęczeć
European Portuguese: zumbir
Romanian: a zumzăi
Russian: гудеть
Latin American Spanish: tararear
Swedish: nynna
Thai: ร้องเพลงในคอ
Turkish: vızıldamak
Ukrainian: гудіти
Vietnamese: kêu vo ve
All related terms of 'hum'
ho hum
You can use ho hum when you want to show that you think something is not interesting, remarkable, or surprising in any way.
hum note
a note produced by a bell when struck , lying an octave or (in many English bells) a sixth or seventh below the strike tone
hum tone
a note produced by a bell when struck , lying an octave or (in many English bells) a sixth or seventh below the strike tone
hum and haw
If you hem and haw , or in British English hum and haw , you take a long time to say something because you cannot think of the right words, or because you are not sure what to say.