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
But in the West the dying sun had set all the fume on fire, and now Mindolluin stood black against a burning smoulder flecked with embers.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
The deftly seared fillet sat atop an aromatic fumé of fennel, saffron and tomato.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2017
They include gas leaks, spraying substances to cover the smell of fumes and failing to properly maintain idle wells, among others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
One of the affected aircraft from Air Corsica’s fleet is currently with ATR at its facilities in Toulouse, France, where the manufacturer is running tests to identify the source of the reported fumes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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
Another clear indication of a franchise running on fumes is that its most appealing element is now increasingly convoluted and tedious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
All about it the earth gaped, and from deep rifts and pits smoke and fumes leaped up.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
The media were trying "to make her a celebrity," fumed Friedan, "but no one should mistake her for a leader."
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
"If you're not making the tips, what good is the tax credit?" he fumed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
Trump privately fumed at the backlash, officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 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
Many at school wept for their classmate, but Claudette fumed.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
And he sure did, fuming at her publicly and privately for several days in a row.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2026
As we drove home, we were both fuming.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
"The rest of the lads will be fuming if I take much longer," he said as he left the stage.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 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
I sat in my chair for another second, fuming, before deciding that it wasn’t worth the battle on our first day here.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
