ho-hum
Americaninterjection
adjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ho-hum
First recorded in 1920–25
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.
Optical stocks have recaptured investors’ interest lately, but Lumentum’s blowout earnings report is being met with a ho-hum response.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
You can find a ho-hum plea for unity in her answer, as well as a guarded concession that Thanksgiving is a holiday that the vast majority of Americans cherish.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Analysts’ initial take on the results was ho-hum.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
In 2026, things that never were part of the 20th century—YouTube, smartphones, Uber, even artificial-intelligence chatbots—will have been around for a while, a ho-hum given.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
These women are pillars of wonder, defying gravity while wearing the ho-hum aspect of perfect tedium.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
