hum - Definition of hum at Define.com Dictionary and Thesaurus (define hum)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Hum \Hum\ (h[u^]m), verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Hummed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Humming}.] [Of imitative origin; cf. G. hummen, D. hommelen. [root]15.]

1. To make a low, prolonged sound, like that of a bee in flight; to drone; to murmur; to buzz; as, a top hums. --P. Fletcher.

Still humming on, their drowsy course they keep. --Pope.

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. --Shak.

3. [Cf. {Hum}, interj.] 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. --Trial of the Regicides.

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.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Hum \Hum\, interj. [Cf. {Hem}, interj.] Ahem; hem; an inarticulate sound uttered in a pause of speech implying doubt and deliberation. --Pope.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Hum \Hum\, verb (used with an object)

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]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Hum \Hum\, noun

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. --Shak.

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. --Byron. (b) A buzz or murmur, as of approbation. --Macaulay.

3. An imposition or hoax.

4. [Cf. {Hem}, interj.] 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. --Shak.

5. [Perh. so called because strongly intoxicating.] A kind of strong drink formerly used. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.

{Venous hum}. See under {Venous}.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

hum

noun

1: the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity; "they manifested all the busyness of a pack of beavers"; "there is a constant hum of military preparation" [syn: {busyness}]

2: an Islamic fundamentalist group in Pakistan that fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s; now operates as a terrorist organization primarily in Kashmir and seeks Kashmir's accession by Pakistan [syn: {Harkat-ul-Mujahidin}, {Harkat ul-Ansar}, {HUA}, {Harkat ul-Mujahedeen}, {Al Faran}, {Movement of Holy Warriors}]

3: a humming noise; "the hum of distant traffic" [syn: {humming}]

verb

1: sing with closed lips; "She hummed a melody"

2: be noisy with activity; "This office is buzzing with activity" [syn: {buzz}, {seethe}]

3: sound with a monotonous hum [syn: {thrum}]

4: make a low continuous sound; "The refrigerator is humming" [also: {humming}, {hummed}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

170 Moby Thesaurus words for "hum": Indian file, anthem, array, articulation, ballad, bank, bel canto, birdies, birr, blooping, blurping, bombilate, bombilation, bombinate, bombination, boom, booming, bravura, bum, burr, buzz, buzzing, carol, catena, catenation, chain, chain reaction, chaining, chant, chirp, chirrup, choir, choral singing, chorus, coloratura, concatenation, connection, consecution, continue the same, continuum, course, croon, crooning, cycle, descant, descent, distortion, do-re-mi, drag along, drag on, drone, droning, endless belt, endless round, falter, feedback, file, filiation, flutter, fluttering, folk singing, gamut, gradation, halt, haw, hem, hem and haw, hesitate, hissing, howling, hum and haw, humming, hymn, intonate, intonation, intone, lilt, line, lineage, low rumbling, lyricism, mammer, minstrel, monotone, motorboating, nexus, operatic singing, pendulum, periodicity, persist, pipe, plenum, powder train, prevail, progression, psalm, purr, purring, quaver, queue, range, rank, recurrence, reticulation, rotation, roulade, round, routine, row, rumble, run, run through, scale, scat, scat singing, scratching, sequence, serenade, series, shake, shredding, sing, sing in chorus, singing, single file, sol-fa, sol-fa exercise, solfeggio, solmizate, solmization, song, spectrum, squeals, stammer, static, string, stumble, stutter, succession, swath, thread, thrum, thrumming, tier, tonic sol-fa, train, tremolo, trill, troll, tweedle, tweedledee, twit, twitter, vocal music, vocalization, vocalize, warble, warbling, whir, whirring, whistle, whistles, whiz, whizzing, windrow, woomping, wow, wowwows, yodel, yodeling