fume

¹ American  

[fyoom] / fyum /

noun

1. Often fumes any smokelike or vaporous exhalation from matter or substances, especially of an odorous or harmful nature.

   tobacco fumes; noxious fumes of carbon monoxide.

2. an irritable or angry mood.

   He has been in a fume ever since the contract fell through.

   Synonyms:

   storm, agitation, fury, rage

---

verb (used with object)

fumed, fuming

1. to emit or exhale, as fumes or vapor.

   giant stacks fuming their sooty smoke.

2. to treat with or expose to fumes.

verb (used without object)

fumed, fuming

1. to rise, or pass off, as fumes.

   smoke fuming from an ashtray.

2. to emit fumes.

   The leaky pipe fumed alarmingly.

3. to show fretful irritation or anger.

   She always fumes when the mail is late.

   Synonyms:

   fret, chafe

fumé ² American  

[fy-mey] / füˈmeɪ /

adjective

French.

1. of food, cured or flavored by exposure to smoke; smoked.

---

fume British  

/ fjuːm /

verb

1. (intr) to be overcome with anger or fury; rage

2. to give off (fumes) or (of fumes) to be given off, esp during a chemical reaction

3. (tr) to subject to or treat with fumes; fumigate

---

noun

1. (often plural) a pungent or toxic vapour

2. a sharp or pungent odour

3. a condition of anger

fume Scientific  

/ fyo̅o̅m /

1. Smoke, vapor, or gas, especially if irritating, harmful, or smelly.

---

Other Word Forms

• fumeless adjective
• fumelike adjective
• fumer noun
• fumingly adverb
• fumy adjective
• unfuming adjective

Etymology

Origin of fume

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French fum < Latin fūmus smoke, steam, fume

Example Sentences

I rush inside and up the stairs to my room, where I set it on my desk and then just stand there, fuming.

From Literature

Occasionally, workers who weren’t wearing protective equipment would pass out from the fumes, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal

The noise is constant, sparks fly and the air is full of welding fumes.

From Barron's

The explosion, Ms. Nichter writes, became “seared into my memory”—earsplitting blasts, acrid fumes and thick, black plumes of smoke.

From The Wall Street Journal

The rest of the kids filed out the doors as I sat there fuming.

From Literature

Related Words

• bristle
• chafe
• rave
• seethe