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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



... sahib! Hunya log bura crab. Hazur hum, do admi jaldi Lhasa giao." ("The Shokas are bad. The Hunyas are very bad. Your honour and I, we two alone, will go quickly ...
— In the Forbidden Land • Arnold Henry Savage Landor
... people got into the vehicle, and when they got out. He then impressed on her the necessity in future life, when she grew up, of always having the price of her fare ready before it was wanted, to prevent unnecessary delay. Having delivered himself of this good advice, he began to hum, keeping time by drumming with his thick Malacca cane. He was still proceeding with this amusement—producing some of the most acutely unmusical sounds I ever heard—when the omnibus stopped to give admission ...
— Basil • Wilkie Collins
... a passing humour. [Then he set himself to hum the overture and the air he had spoken of, and ...
— Diderot and the Encyclopaedists - Volume II. • John Morley
... thee a song, my lovely fellow," quoth the Tinker, "for I never tasted such ale in all my days before. By Our Lady, it doth make my head hum even now! Hey, Dame Hostess, come listen, an thou wouldst hear a song, and thou too, thou bonny lass, for never sing I so well as when bright eyes do look ...
— The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood • Howard Pyle
... begun that tune during the last term at school, in the summer. It made her think of rounders in the hot school garden, singing-classes in the large green room, all the class shouting "Gather roses while ye may," hot afternoons in the shady north room, the sound of turning pages, the hum of the garden beyond the sun-blinds, meetings in the sixth form study.... Lilla, with her black hair and the specks of bright amber in the brown of her ...
— Pointed Roofs - Pilgrimage, Volume 1 • Dorothy Richardson


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