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Synonyms

um

American  
[uhm, uhn, uhm, uhn] / ʌm, ʌ̃, əm, ə̃ /
Or umm

interjection

  1. (used as an expression of doubt, hesitation, deliberation, interest, etc.)

um 1 British  
/ ʌm, əm /

interjection

  1. a representation of a common sound made when hesitating in speech

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
um 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. US Minor Outlying Islands

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Today: The number claiming Social Security is … um … 70.2 million.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

“It was largely about having that reminder of this feeling of being in the audience,” Styles told Mayer of his time spent, um, researching.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

He couldn't be here because, um, we're getting a bearded dragon, and he went to a reptile expo in New Jersey.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026

Back then, they fell out after a couple of weeks, not to return…for, um, a brief respite of 78 years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

“That’s what my tūtū calls my, um, power.”

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

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.