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Glite Dictionary
🔊 A steady sound 🎶 Making music
humming

humming

5 2.7
A low steady sound like bees or a machine running
  • noun
  • /ˈhʌmɪŋ/
translation icon : zumbido
  • On the highway, the steady humming of traffic created a backdrop to our conversation.

A library humming like a swarm of gnats.

Examples

  • As the machinery worked in the factory, a constant humming echoed throughout the room.

  • And even as ARCADE speaks, the VOICE seems to come from all around them, from the HUMMING coursing through the walls.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • A library humming like a swarm of gnats.

    Harvard University

  • ASYLUM - SNAKE PIT - NIGHT (DREAM SEQ.) THERE IS NO SOUND except for the HUMMING OF MACHINES.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The humming of the bees filled the garden with a soothing sound.

Synonyms

hum
vshumming
85 1.0

A low steady sound made by machines or many people

is the exact same steady low sound defined as the main concept
buzz
vshumming
64 1.0

A low steady sound like bees or a machine

is broader covering steady noises from many sources like traffic
murmur
vshumming
36 4.1

A low, quiet sound made by people speaking softly or by small movements

is a steady mechanical or traffic noise rather than indistinct speech
murmuring
vshumming
11 3.4

A low continuous sound made by voices or nature

is steadier and clearer, referring to ongoing background sounds
thrum
vshumming
2 7.2

A low, steady humming sound that you can hear

is steady and even rather than rhythmically pulsing
hoom
vshumming
  • UK
9.9

A low steady humming sound heard in the background

is the same steady noise but presented as a general sound
bombination
vshumming
  • Archaic
9.9

A low steady buzzing sound made by insects or machines

is steadier and not always caused by fast vibrating parts

Compounds

humming bird's trumpet
  • US
9.9

A shrub with bright red flowers shaped like tubes that attract hummingbirds

humming top
6.4

A spinning toy that makes a soft buzzing sound when it moves

How Loud

roar
142 1.0
humming
5 2.7
to drone
1 5.8
to purr
6 3.5

Surface Forms

humming singular
hummings plural

Morphology

humming = hum (transparent) = hum + ing

The noun is a direct nominalization of the verb 'hum' with -ing, meaning the continuous sound; learners who know 'hum' will readily infer this meaning.

Etymology

Humming comes from the simple sound hum, which copies the steady noise of bees or a machine. So humming means a 'low, steady sound', like a refrigerator or the buzz of a crowd, and you can see the same idea in hummingbird.