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Hum   /həm/   Listen
noun
Hum  n.  
1.
A low monotonous noise, as of bees in flight, of a swiftly revolving top, of a wheel, or the like; a drone; a buzz. "The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums."
2.
Any inarticulate and buzzing sound; as:
(a)
The confused noise of a crowd or of machinery, etc., heard at a distance; as, the hum of industry. "But 'midst the crowd, the hum, the shock of men."
(b)
A buzz or murmur, as of approbation.
3.
An imposition or hoax.
4.
An inarticulate nasal sound or murmur, like h'm, uttered by a speaker in pause from embarrassment, affectation, etc. "These shrugs, these hums and ha's."
5.
A kind of strong drink formerly used. (Obs.)
Venous hum. See under Venous.


verb
Hum  v. t.  
1.
To sing with shut mouth; to murmur without articulation; to mumble; as, to hum a tune.
2.
To express satisfaction with by humming.
3.
To flatter by approving; to cajole; to impose on; to humbug. (Colloq. & Low)


Hum  v. i.  (past & past part. hummed; pres. part. humming)  
1.
To make a low, prolonged sound, like that of a bee in flight; to drone; to murmur; to buzz; as, a top hums. "Still humming on, their drowsy course they keep."
2.
To make a nasal sound, like that of the letter m prolonged, without opening the mouth, or articulating; to mumble in monotonous undertone; to drone. "The cloudy messenger turns me his back, And hums."
3.
To make an inarticulate sound, like h'm, through the nose in the process of speaking, from embarrassment or a affectation; to hem.
4.
To express satisfaction by a humming noise. "Here the spectators hummed." Note: Formerly the habit of audiences was to express gratification by humming and displeasure by hissing.
5.
To have the sensation of a humming noise; as, my head hums, a pathological condition.


interjection
Hum  interj.  Ahem; hem; an inarticulate sound uttered in a pause of speech implying doubt and deliberation.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Hum" Quotes from Famous Books



... chosen for this mission, would be notified. His companions, too, would hear of the selection; and often indulged, in their own grim humorous way, of reminding him of the fact! The man next to him at the table would softly and weirdly hum a strain from Chopin's Funeral March, setting its music to the solemn words, "Ten thousand dollars going ...
— The Greater Love • George T. McCarthy
... "that our strenuous life this Fall and Summer, living in the outdoors, has unfitted us for the hum-drum sort of existence that used to satisfy us. We seem to want some ...
— The Outdoor Girls in Florida - Or, Wintering in the Sunny South • Laura Lee Hope
... sail in and make this old island hum," he said, and a number of his neighbours, nothing loth to be made rich by magic—advocates, bankers and insular councillors—joined hands with ...
— The Woman Thou Gavest Me - Being the Story of Mary O'Neill • Hall Caine
... redolent of new-mown hay, fanned her pale cheek and feverish brow, and allayed her agitation and excitement. The perfect stillness, broken only by the lowing of the cattle in the adjoining pastures, by the drowsy hum of the dor-fly, or the rippling of the beck in the valley, further calmed her; and the soothing influence was completed by a contemplation of the serene heavens, wherein were seen the starry host, with the thin ...
— The Lancashire Witches - A Romance of Pendle Forest • William Harrison Ainsworth
... Things hum. Troops like ants all over the ground. In tents, in bivvies, in the open, everywhere. And the eternal chain of motor lorries bringing up ammunition and supplies. These one sees all over France. But ...
— Letters to Helen - Impressions of an Artist on the Western Front • Keith Henderson


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