hum
Americanverb (used without object)
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to make a low, continuous, droning sound.
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to give forth an indistinct sound of mingled voices or noises.
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to utter an indistinct sound in hesitation, embarrassment, dissatisfaction, etc.; hem.
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to sing with closed lips, without articulating words.
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to be in a state of busy activity.
The household hummed in preparation for the wedding.
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British Slang. to have a bad odor, as of stale perspiration.
verb (used with object)
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to sound, sing, or utter by humming.
to hum a tune.
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to bring, put, etc., by humming.
to hum a child to sleep.
noun
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the act or sound of humming; an inarticulate or indistinct murmur; hem.
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Audio. an unwanted low-frequency sound caused by power-line frequencies in any audio component.
interjection
verb
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(intr) to make a low continuous vibrating sound like that of a prolonged m
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(intr) (of a person) to sing with the lips closed
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(intr) to utter an indistinct sound, as in hesitation; hem
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informal (intr) to be in a state of feverish activity
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slang (intr) to smell unpleasant
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slang (intr) to scrounge
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See hem 2
noun
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a low continuous murmuring sound
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electronics an undesired low-frequency noise in the output of an amplifier or receiver, esp one caused by the power supply
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slang a scrounger; cadger
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slang an unpleasant odour
interjection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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humsimple
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humssimple
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have hummedperfect
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has hummedperfect
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am hummingprogressive
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are hummingprogressive
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is hummingprogressive
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have been hummingperfect progressive
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has been hummingperfect progressive
Past
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hummedsimple
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had hummedperfect
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was hummingprogressive
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were hummingprogressive
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had been hummingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hum
1300–50; Middle English; ultimately imitative; cognate with German hummen to hum; cf. humblebee
Explanation
To hum is to make a low, steady, singing sound with your mouth closed. If you don't know the words to a song on the radio, you can just hum along. Other hums are based on the musical hum, making a similar low, constant sound. Bees hum, an electric fan hums, and your car idling quietly also hums. A figurative way to hum is to be busy and loud: "The cafe always seemed to hum with activity." The word hum is imitative (it sounds like the noise it describes), but its earliest form was hommen, in the 1500s, meaning "make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment."
Vocabulary lists containing hum
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:
The hum can be difficult to detect outdoors.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
Sufferers have described symptoms such as hearing a low hum, clicks, squeals and "grinding metal" while others reported intense pressure on the skull, dizziness and nausea.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The registers hum with a steady din of beeps and automated “please begin scanning” messages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Amid the hum of Woodcat Coffee in Echo Park, Azniv Korkejian pauses in front of a wall of family photographs mounted on faded construction paper and tucked into repurposed frames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
It felt like a low hum in Clare’s bones—a feeling that both troubled and delighted him.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Even on an early Tuesday afternoon in July, the brightly lit, bustling space hums with high energy as a lunchtime crowd of New Yorkers tightly navigates the narrow aisles with oversized canvas bags.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Mr. Crytzer’s narrative hums along with the National Road’s traffic as he colorfully describes Pony Express riders, stagecoaches, Conestoga wagons and many thousands of migrants wending ever westward, feeding the nation’s economic and territorial growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
As he watches dishes cook, he hums along in Persian to the music playing in his restaurant.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
In a prologue about Lee’s harsh childhood in Manchester, England, her mother hums a tune to her based on the traditional Shaker hymn “Beautiful Treasures.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2025
There were low hums and high-pitched shrieks, roars, and the occasional click of something above him.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
At the bustling centre, sewing machines hummed as women stitched blankets, while others stacked thin mattresses ready to be handed out.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
The crowd hummed and swayed in agreement and cheered in recognition of the feelings that she captured.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Even when the scoreboard hummed to life in the second half, it still didn’t look like an instant classic was in store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2025
In one corner, an older woman closed her eyes as she sank into the automatic massage chair that hummed.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025
Usually the store hummed with noise as people chatted, laughed, and exchanged jokes with the tiny white-haired owner who sat at his usual spot, next to the register.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Do you sometimes notice a deep buzzing or humming noise that seems to have no identifiable source?
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
Instead of spending the money on a pricey establishing shot of the car driving on the 101, Wain inserts a brief vintage clip of a ’70s-era taxi, humming along the road.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
The luxury side of the housing market, meanwhile, is still humming along.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
A humming from generators running along the water’s edge muted the usual buzz of tourists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Mama was humming a song, and the tune was cracking my skull open like a nut.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
