- a variation of h'm.
hmm
Britishinterjection
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.
“I was reading the Bible the other day, and there were em dashes in the book of James, and I was like, hmm, is this AI-generated?,”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Or … hmm … looking at the first guy on our list, it might not have been the exact right week to use that opening line.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2025
Kate Mansey, an assistant editor at The Times, was more circumspect: "I'm not quite sure what to say about this one, except, hmm..."
From BBC ● May 22, 2024
In Mozambique, Yao honey-hunters do so with a trilled "Brr! ..." followed by a guttural " ... hmm!"
From Science Daily ● Dec. 7, 2023
“How are my three Incorrigible children today, hmm? How is my Cassawoofy-woofy-woo? Ready to go off into the woods?”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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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.