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Synonyms

um

American  
[uhm, uhn, uhm, uhn] / ʌm, ʌ̃, əm, ə̃ /
Or umm

interjection

  1. (used as an expression of doubt, hesitation, deliberation, interest, etc.)

um 1 British  
/ ʌm, əm /

interjection

  1. a representation of a common sound made when hesitating in speech

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
um 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. US Minor Outlying Islands

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Do you really believe the Lakers want him back when they will have the cap space to trade for a player like, um, Antetokounmpo?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Today: The number claiming Social Security is … um … 70.2 million.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

I speak, of course, of the, uh, rising Winter Olympic panic that male ski jumpers, hoping to improve aerodynamics and, um, lengthen their jumps, may be covertly:

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

He couldn't be here because, um, we're getting a bearded dragon, and he went to a reptile expo in New Jersey.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026

“I—I, um, thought I heard something up here, and I didn’t want Mrs. Caruthers to worry,” she said, too fast.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

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.