hum

CEFRC1

/ˈhʌm/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To make a continuous low sound with your voice or mouth.

  2. 02

    noun

    A low continuous sound made by a person or machine.

Examples

  • A melody is not merely something you can hum.

  • They could hear a hum coming from the kitchen, and found the dishwasher on.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. An often indistinct sound resembling human humming.

  2. Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed.

More examples

In context

  • We are humming happily along with the music.

  • Hum baby to sleep.

  • to hum a tune

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The refrigerator began to blank quietly in the corner of the kitchen.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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.