to emit or exhale, as fumes or vapor.
giant stacks fuming their sooty smoke.
to treat with or expose to fumes.
(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
(often plural) a pungent or toxic vapour
a sharp or pungent odour
a condition of anger
1350–1400; Middle English < Old French fum < Latin fūmus smoke, steam, fume
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Others include multiple types of exposures associated with fume events: chemicals that appear in both pesticides and engine oils; high levels of ultrafine particles and solvents like formaldehyde; and brain trauma.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
On the first two legs, he and first officer Eric Tellman noticed a dirty sock-like smell—an indicator of a fume event—spreading through the Airbus A319 just as they started their descent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Then I made my way back to the fume hood and started preparing my materials.
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
Tom Smith KC, for TG Jones, told the hearing that the business is "highly distressed" and "running on fumes at the moment".
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The fire has been contained to the warehouse but continues to burn, spewing fumes that smell of burning plastic.
From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026
The fire reached an ammonia line, triggering several small explosions and a dramatic image of flames shooting through the building roof as crews evacuated the area to avoid the fumes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
For the SOXX, there are a couple RSI developments that warn bulls are now running on fumes.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
The fumes quickly put surgical patients to sleep, but this ether also had a tendency to stop their breathing completely.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
He fumed when a group member suggested printing ‘Stop AI’ on purple shirts rather than red.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Her husband, Paul Quattlebaum, fumed, “If I took my dog to a vet and it had this problem, that dog would get better treatment.”
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
“What an outrageous and offensive insult that Chad just made to every legal immigrant in this state and in this country,” Hilton fumed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
Moscow later fumed that this had led to the fall of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
“I’m a little frustrated,” Debbie fumed as the case dragged on.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
As we drove home, we were both fuming.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
And after Paraguay triumphed 4-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw, Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was left fuming at the disallowed goal.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Even President Trump, who had spent the previous year fuming at the Fed chair he had appointed, called to congratulate Powell as “my most improved player.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
But recent posts on Instagram, TikTok and as far afield as China's RedNote showing the town's Tasman Drive have left residents fuming that their little slice of paradise has turned into an internet sensation.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
For the next couple of periods plus lunch, I sat around worrying about how much work I was going to have to make up and fuming about how Annette had known my secret all along.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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.
