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
In that incident, an Air Canada jet ran into an emergency vehicle on the runway that was racing to deal with a potential fume event on a United Airlines flight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
Angel now looks like Italy’s PM and parishioners fume.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 3, 2026
The air was oppressive; it seemed as if there was some sulphurous fume, which at times made me dizzy.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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
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
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
Dr Coralynn Sack, an occupational pulmonologist specialising in air pollution's effects on the body at the University of Washington, said the noxious fumes from wildfires are well known to pose "inhalational hazards" to firefighters.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
First, it was too heavily traveled, and the air was thick with fumes and noise.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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
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
"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
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
Gay fumed as she cleaned up the waste.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
"If I'd have put my hands and head down a toilet for nothing, I would've been fuming," he noted.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
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
Judges accustomed to having government lawyers comply with their orders have been left fuming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
Instead, she called for tea and cookies and offered hospitality to the fuming Grand Elder.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
