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:
A trio of airports add a near-constant hum of commercial jets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Everyone can play along, whether by singing or simply riding the hum.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Stone said during the Carrington Event, "even telegraph wires were heard to hum and crackle, and they were able to run the telegraph poles without any electricity because the input was so high".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The hum can be difficult to detect outdoors.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
It started as a soft twitter, like the distant chirping of birds, and then built to a high, steady hum.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Even on an early Tuesday afternoon in July, the brightly lit, bustling space hums with high energy as a lunchtime crowd of New Yorkers tightly navigates the narrow aisles with oversized canvas bags.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
As he watches dishes cook, he hums along in Persian to the music playing in his restaurant.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
The group hums in agreement, offering dispatches from their own lives about thorny friendships.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026
Groceries arrive, coffee is strong, music is queued, and the kitchen hums as you chop, roast, stir, and stack.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
Dad puts the radio on and hums along to his favourite station.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Millions of Mexican Americans like myself have stumbled through the himno nacional during this World Cup, whereas in previous years, we might have just hummed some bars or stayed silent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
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
Beats hummed, lights glimmered and about 200 young men and women traded emerald-green tiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The fountain hummed beside him while students streamed past the gate—laughing, scrolling, carrying coffee, stubbornly keeping going.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2025
As she swung along the village road, Alyce, with good feelings tumbling about inside her, hummed and then tra-la-ed and then sang, as loud and clear as a swan.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
When Lucy* puts her child to bed, she hears a constant humming.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The world’s most valuable company, Nvidia, is nurturing an entirely new asset class to keep chip sales humming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Business has been humming along, Brian Keeler at renovation company West Shore Homes told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
And when Morton was done, she looked over to director Christopher Nolan, waiting for him to say something like, “Maybe try it without the humming, Samantha.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
It spun to life, humming a joyous tune as I took Abuelitas hand back in mine and started to pray out loud.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
