hum
Americanverb (used without object)
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hums,
present (3rd person singular)
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hummed,
past participle, past
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humming
present participle
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to make a low, continuous, droning sound.
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to give forth an indistinct sound of mingled voices or noises.
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to utter an indistinct sound in hesitation, embarrassment, dissatisfaction, etc.; hem.
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to sing with closed lips, without articulating words.
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to be in a state of busy activity.
The household hummed in preparation for the wedding.
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British Slang. to have a bad odor, as of stale perspiration.
verb (used with object)
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hums,
present (3rd person singular)
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hummed,
past participle, past
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humming
present participle
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to sound, sing, or utter by humming.
to hum a tune.
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to bring, put, etc., by humming.
to hum a child to sleep.
noun
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hums
plural
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the act or sound of humming; an inarticulate or indistinct murmur; hem.
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Audio. an unwanted low-frequency sound caused by power-line frequencies in any audio component.
interjection
verb
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(intr) to make a low continuous vibrating sound like that of a prolonged m
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(intr) (of a person) to sing with the lips closed
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(intr) to utter an indistinct sound, as in hesitation; hem
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informal (intr) to be in a state of feverish activity
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slang (intr) to smell unpleasant
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slang (intr) to scrounge
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See hem 2
noun
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a low continuous murmuring sound
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electronics an undesired low-frequency noise in the output of an amplifier or receiver, esp one caused by the power supply
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slang a scrounger; cadger
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slang an unpleasant odour
interjection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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humsimple
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humssimple
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have hummedperfect
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has hummedperfect
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am hummingprogressive
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are hummingprogressive
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is hummingprogressive
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have been hummingperfect progressive
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has been hummingperfect progressive
Past
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hummedsimple
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had hummedperfect
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was hummingprogressive
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were hummingprogressive
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had been hummingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hum
1300–50; Middle English; ultimately imitative; cognate with German hummen to hum; cf. humblebee
Explanation
To hum is to make a low, steady, singing sound with your mouth closed. If you don't know the words to a song on the radio, you can just hum along. Other hums are based on the musical hum, making a similar low, constant sound. Bees hum, an electric fan hums, and your car idling quietly also hums. A figurative way to hum is to be busy and loud: "The cafe always seemed to hum with activity." The word hum is imitative (it sounds like the noise it describes), but its earliest form was hommen, in the 1500s, meaning "make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment."
Vocabulary lists containing hum
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As night crept in and darkness blanketed the four-hectare burial ground, the hum of activity and thick smoke gave way to a sepulchral glow as fires burned for its more than 2,000 dead.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Players can now hum ocarina melodies themselves to trigger certain in-game actions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Everyone can play along, whether by singing or simply riding the hum.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
The effect was magical—the incense clouds, the mantra hum, the breeze off the ocean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
At my words, the earring began to hum as it spun.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
A bank of white freezers hums away at a former watch factory in central London.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
It sometimes seems that she’s a screen-generated hallucination, someone living inside of a machine that hums inside of another machine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The imperial machinery, built in an earlier more democratic era, hums along without our input.
From Salon ● May 21, 2026
Mr. Crytzer’s narrative hums along with the National Road’s traffic as he colorfully describes Pony Express riders, stagecoaches, Conestoga wagons and many thousands of migrants wending ever westward, feeding the nation’s economic and territorial growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
The truck hums and bumps along as we all quietly take in the scenery.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
At the bustling centre, sewing machines hummed as women stitched blankets, while others stacked thin mattresses ready to be handed out.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Eilish’s music has hummed through my house since we saw “Hit Me Hard and Soft.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
Our Bosch dishwasher hummed but refused to wash, so I replaced the clogged heat exchanger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Her phone was kept on silent; electro-beats hummed in the background; digestive biscuits were devoured.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
It grew longer and longer—three feet, five feet, ten!—and my jaw dropped as John Henry’s hammer hummed with energy.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
The U.S. economy’s biggest engine is still humming, but it’s running into costly headwinds.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
"It is trading the gap between what companies earn today and what they still have to spend to keep the AI machine humming tomorrow."
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
He sways as a low moan comes from deep in his throat - he could be humming a tune.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
The biggest tech companies are keeping the stock market humming despite spiraling oil prices and interest rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
He began a low moan, so Aunt Goldie began humming to the organ’s “Abide with Me.”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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