hummus

American  

[huhm-uhs] / ˈhʌm əs /

Sometimes hommos

noun

Middle Eastern Cooking.

1. a paste or dip made of chickpeas mashed with oil, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini and usually eaten with pita.

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hummus British  

/ ˈhʊməs /

noun

1. a creamy dip originating in the Middle East, made from puréed chickpeas, tahina, etc

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Commonly Confused

See humus

Etymology

Origin of hummus

First recorded in 1950–55; from Turkish humus “mashed chickpeas,” or from Arabic ḥummuṣ, ḥəmmoṣ “chickpeas”

Compare meaning

How does hummus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• humus vs. hummus

Example Sentences

A generous mound of hummus, swirled with the back of a spoon.

From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026

The hostess usually puts on a nice spread: dips, fresh bread, cuts of ham and beef, Christmas tree-shaped chips with hummus and salsa cruda, mince pies, chocolate squares, etc.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025

After the hummus and seven vegetable salads, the meal unfolded with sweet-and-salty pistachio-dusted halloumi baklava, tender beef shashlik over creamy black-garlic toum, and a guava sorbet sundae.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

The Palestinian, French and Israeli flags fly from the ceiling of "Sababa, the Taste of Peace", where the first customers packed in to eat hummus, falafel or Gazan salad.

From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025

The refrigerator door swung open and out poured tubs of hummus and tzatziki sauce.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda