Hums

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hum

 (hŭm)
v. hummed, hum·ming, hums
v.intr.
1.
a. To emit a continuous low droning sound like that of the speech sound (m) when prolonged.
b. To emit the continuous droning sound of a bee on the wing; buzz.
c. To give forth a low continuous drone blended of many sounds: The avenue hummed with traffic.
2. To be in a state of busy activity.
3. To produce a tune without opening the lips or forming words.
v.tr.
1. To sing (a tune) without opening the lips or forming words.
2. Baseball To throw or pitch (a ball) very fast.
n.
1. The sound produced by humming.
2. The act of humming.
interj.
Used to indicate hesitation, surprise, or displeasure.

[Middle English hummen, of imitative origin.]

hum′ma·ble adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Hums

(hʊms)
n
(Placename) a variant of Homs
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Mentioned in
References in classic literature
Since the receipt of the last, I’ “—here a long passage was rendered indistinct by a kind of humming noise by the sheriff—” ‘I grieve to say that ‘—hum, hum, bad enough to be sure—’ but trusts that a merciful Providence has seen fit’—hum, hum, hum seems to be a good, pious sort of a man, ‘Duke; belongs to the Established Church, I dare say; hum, hum—’ vessel sailed from Falmouth on or about the 1st September of last year, and’—hum, hum, hum, ‘If anything should transpire on this afflicting subject shall not fail’— hum, hum; really a good-hearted man, for a lawyer—’but Can communicate nothing further at present’—hum, hum.
He was on the brudge wuth me, an' I told hum tull take a look tull the wedges o' number one hatch.
The sea must a-caught hum on the upper brudge deck, carried hum clean across the fiddley, an' banged hum head-on tull the pipe cover.
"Nor I hum. Heaven knows I could no a-picked hum out of a crowd, though he'll be havin' your nose I'm thunkun'."
'South-east-by-east,' I told hum. 'South-east-by-east, sir,' says he.
The Dragon-made a face, and growled again three times, 'Hum, hum, hum,' and said to the third, 'Do you know what your wineglass shall be?'
From hand to hand, the buckets went in the deepest silence, only broken by the occasional flap of a sail, and the steady hum of the unceasingly advancing keel.
Aye, you are the chap, ain't ye, that heard the hum of the old Quakeress's knitting-needles fifty miles at sea from Nantucket; you're the chap.
Instead of black, glossy bees- tamed by toil, clinging to one another's legs and drawing out the wax, with a ceaseless hum of labor- that used to hang in long clusters down to the floor of the hive, drowsy shriveled bees crawl about separately in various directions on the floor and walls of the hive.
Hereupon the sister of Scheherazade, as I have it from the "Isitsoornot," expressed no very particular intensity of gratification; but the king, having been sufficiently pinched, at length ceased snoring, and finally said, "hum!" and then "hoo!" when the queen, understanding these words (which are no doubt Arabic) to signify that he was all attention, and would do his best not to snore any more -- the queen, I say, having arranged these matters to her satisfaction, re-entered thus, at once, into the history of Sinbad the sailor:
"Hum!" said the king, again; but Scheherazade, paying him no attention, continued in the language of Sinbad.
Again, a young girl, more bold and saucy than was fitting, brushed the priest's black robe, singing in his face the sardonic ditty, "niche, niche, the devil is caught." Sometimes a group of squalid old crones, squatting in a file under the shadow of the steps to a porch, scolded noisily as the archdeacon and the bellringer passed, and tossed them this encouraging welcome, with a curse: "Hum! there's a fellow whose soul is made like the other one's body!" Or a band of schoolboys and street urchins, playing hop-scotch, rose in a body and saluted him classically, with some cry in Latin: " Eia!
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