humming

American  

[huhm-ing] / ˈhʌm ɪŋ /

adjective

1. making a droning sound; buzzing.

2. very busy; briskly active.

   a humming office.

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Other Word Forms

• hummingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of humming

First recorded in 1570–80; hum + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Punjabi music has always dominated the South Asian diaspora in the United States, on the television, humming from car stereos, mainly stayed inside those domestic spaces to private life that rarely entered into the mainstream.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

Even amid cataclysmic energy shocks and relentless spates of white-collar layoffs, the American economic engine appears to be humming along smoothly.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

It is also cutting deeply into supplies of the invisible gas that is essential for cooling artificial-intelligence chip-making tools and keeping MRI scanners humming.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The backline is humming, so there's no reason to change it.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

She was in the big studio where she painted, and she was working at her easel, humming and holding a paintbrush with a blue-daubed end in her hand.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry