hum Hear it!

hum¹ Definition

hum (hum)

intransitive verb hummed, hum′·ming

  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

Etymology: ME hummen, of echoic orig., as in Ger hummel, bumblebee, MDu hommeln, hum

transitive verb

  1. to sing (a tune, etc.) with the lips closed
  2. to produce an effect on by humming to hum a child to sleep

noun

  1. the act of humming
  2. a continuous, murmuring sound

hum¹ Related Forms
hum′·mer noun
hum² Definition

hum (həm: conventionalized pronun.)

, noun

hem

intransitive verb hummed, hum′·ming

hem

hum Synonyms

hum

v.

buzz, drone, murmur, sing low, hum a tune, croon, sing in an undertone, whisper, sing without articulation, zoom, moan, make a buzzing sound, bombinate, thrum, bum, whir, vibrate, bombilate, purr; see also sound 1.

hum Usage Examples

Object

  • tune: You'll be humming the theme tunes in no time!
  • noise: A humming noise from the ballast is normal operation during starting.
  • bird: From humming bird to cactus Many flowers rely on insects for pollination, which fly from flower to flower, covered in pollen.
  • melody: The hills are humming a melody Soft to the ears, Like candyfloss.
  • song: MULDER starts humming the theme song to " I Dream of Jeannie.

Converse of object

  • emit: At low speed, the fan emits a barely audible hum.
  • hear: Likewise, we should have heard a vibrant hum of energy to highlight its alien power.

Adjective modifier

  • faint: All is silent save for the faint hum of well inflated tires on the dry road.
  • loud: There was always a loud hum audible from the enormous transformer.
  • steady: Day after day there was a steady, quiet hum for the ninety minutes the teacher worked and the children played.
  • gentle: A sleepy village by all accounts, but with a gentle hum of activity.
  • constant: There is a constant hum coming from the hospital, where patients lie in the spanking new building attended 24 hours by medical staff.
  • slight: Best in a screened case but will work with slight hum in plastic sandwich box.

Modifying Another Word

  • softly: Next comes the quietly catchy Soleil Soleil, which hums softly with echoes of Air ' s Moon Safari.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • along: He started to conduct the audience to hum along.

Preposition: of

  • bee: The humming of the bees is the voice of the Goddess, the sound of Creation, which draws us into the dream world.
  • insect: There wasn't even the usual hum of insects or the chatter of birds.
  • conversation: A hum of conversation is heard from the adjoining room stage left.

Noun used with modifier

  • ho: At the time of the voting book 5 wasn't out or it would also have been here, ho hum.
  • padme: How does the number of times om mani padme hum is said affect one's life?
hum Quotes

   I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore, And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.

—Gilbert, Sir W(illiam) S(chwenck)

I live not in myself, but I become Portion of that around me; and to me, High mountains are a feeling, but the hum Of human cities torture.

—Rochdale

But the majestic river floated on, Out of the mist and hum of that low land, Into the frosty starlight.

—Arnold, Matthew

Now air is hushed, save where the weak-eyed bat With short shrill shriek flits by on leathern wing, Or where the beetle winds His small but sullen horn, As oft he rises midst the twilight path, Against the pilgrim borne in heedless hum.

—Collins,William

The force that propels the human spirit on the clear way forward and upward is the abstract spirit.

—Kandinsky,Wassily