fume
noun
Often fumes any smokelike or vaporous exhalation from matter or substances, especially of an odorous or harmful nature.
fume
1 American
[fyoom]
/ fjum /
noun
verb (used with object)
-
fumes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fumed,
past participle, past
-
fuming
present participle
-
to emit or exhale, as fumes or vapor.
giant stacks fuming their sooty smoke.
-
to treat with or expose to fumes.
verb (used without object)
-
fumes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fumed,
past participle, past
-
fuming
present participle
fumé
2
American
[fy -may]
/ füˈmeɪ /
adjective
French.
fume
British
/ fjuːm /
verb
-
(intr) to be overcome with anger or fury; rage
-
to give off (fumes) or (of fumes) to be given off, esp during a chemical reaction
-
(tr) to subject to or treat with fumes; fumigate
noun
-
(often plural) a pungent or toxic vapour
-
a sharp or pungent odour
-
a condition of anger
fume
Scientific
/ fyo̅o̅m /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fumesimple
-
fumessimple
-
have fumedperfect
-
has fumedperfect
-
am fumingprogressive
-
are fumingprogressive
-
is fumingprogressive
-
have been fumingperfect progressive
-
has been fumingperfect progressive
Past
-
fumedsimple
-
had fumedperfect
-
was fumingprogressive
-
were fumingprogressive
-
had been fumingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fume
1350–1400; Middle English < Old French fum < Latin fūmus smoke, steam, fume
Explanation
To fume is to feel or express great anger. You would fume if your teacher accused you of cheating when you didn't. As a verb, fume is usually used figuratively to mean "to feel very angry," whereas as a noun, it is used more as its Latin root fumus "smoke, steam, vapor." A strong-smelling gas, smoke or vapor is also called a fume. In cartoons, when a character is fuming, it is often drawn with fumes coming out of its ears. You may fume about the inconsiderate person who sits in the car with the engine running, spewing clouds of exhaust fumes.
Vocabulary lists containing fume
Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
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Holes
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"Macbeth": Act 1 Scene 7
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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:
But if you’re honest, you also loved watching the guy dumb enough to buy it fume over the futility of his impulses.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
"It's one thing to look at chemistry and a set of materials at the single cell level in a fume hood," said Bailey.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Angel now looks like Italy’s PM and parishioners fume.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 3, 2026
However, exposures have led to diagnoses of brain injury, while families of some crew have blamed fume events for life-threatening illnesses, the Journal has reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
I closed the fume hood and walked toward Kilvin’s office, mindful of where I set my bare feet.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
The deftly seared fillet sat atop an aromatic fumé of fennel, saffron and tomato.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2017
I grew ill one night just from the fumes of grilling meat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The La Verne battery fire is much smaller in scale but nonetheless alarming for those who had to leave their homes or deal with the closure of schools due to the potential of hazardous fumes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Officials struggled to board the hull since operations began on Wednesday because of the toxic fumes and heat.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Among those cases was eight-year-old Luke Albiston-O'Donnell from Birkenhead, who died after inhaling toxic fumes from a house fire caused by an e-bike battery on charge in 2024.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Like, seriously, I have to breathe through my nose or risk swallowing fumes.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
In a phone call with The Times from jail, his first interview since his arrest, Marset fumed about the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Chandrasekaran’s predecessor, Cyrus Mistry, publicly fumed that some Tata Sons board directors would hold up board meetings to consult with Ratan Tata.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Years ago on “Rick and Morty,” President Andre Curtis fumed that he can’t coexist with Rick Sanchez, a living god who won’t submit to his will.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
"It's a human right to know your identity and also to have the possibility to have contact with your biological family," she fumed.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Many at school wept for their classmate, but Claudette fumed.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
The Rams figure to be locked-in and fuming after an embarrassing opener in Australia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
And he sure did, fuming at her publicly and privately for several days in a row.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2026
"I didn't stand a chance at all," he said, adding that the nans were "fuming" at first, but the situation quickly softened.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
As we drove home, we were both fuming.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Outside the store, Leah, who is white, was fuming.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
