hubbub
Americannoun
-
a loud, confused noise, as of many voices.
There was quite a hubbub in the auditorium after the announcement.
- Antonyms:
- quiet
-
tumult; uproar.
- Synonyms:
- confusion, disorder, disturbance
- Antonyms:
- calm
noun
-
a confused noise of many voices
-
uproar
Synonym Usage
See noise.
Etymology
Origin of hubbub
First recorded in 1545–55; apparently of Irish origin; akin to Scots Gaelic cry ubub! (reduplication of ub! ) expressing aversion or contempt
Explanation
Hubbub is a fun, rhyming word for an uproar, a brouhaha, or another crazy situation that has gone completely higgledy-piggledy. No one would say, "What's the hubbub?" at the library, unless it was the loudest, most bonkers day ever in a place that is usually quiet. A hubbub is chaotic, disorganized, loud, and distracting. Sometimes, hubbub can mean a controversy, as in "What's the hubbub over this new law?" If you like peace and quiet, stay away from hubbubs — a word that sounds as loud and unruly as its meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing hubbub
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
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"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte, Chapters 1–5
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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.
It isn’t meant to be entered, only contemplated, an oasis of calm amid the urban hubbub.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Baron Samedi, a shadowy cane-wielding, top-hatted Haitian voodoo figure, slips in and out of the hubbub, with Leonardo Brito’s performance feeling more ad-libbed by the dancer than astutely choreographed by Ms. García.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
But the growing hubbub around data-center investments now has DeBlase wondering: “Is the bull case bullish enough?”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025
And I remember the hubbub of that, the reader emails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
A hubbub of voices drowned out Tendai’s objections.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
