hum

«hum» in Mova's school dictionary: To sing a tune with your lips closed, making a long «mmm»… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (hum, hums, hummed, humming); noun (a hum, hums)

meaning for a pupil

1) To sing a tune with your lips closed, making a long «mmm» sound. tree →

2) To make a low, steady buzzing sound, like bees or a fridge. tree →

3) (noun) A low, continuous sound: «the hum of traffic». tree →

4) To be busy and lively: «The classroom was humming with activity». tree →

sense in the lessons

In music lessons children hum a tune before singing the words. In science, a hum is a sound made by vibrations, like insect wings or electrical machines. In stories it sets a scene: «the hum of bees in the garden», «the fridge hummed». Phrase: «hum along».

examples

• She hummed a happy song while she painted. tree →
• Bees hum as they fly from flower to flower. tree →
• I could hear the hum of the fridge in the quiet kitchen. tree →
• Hum the tune if you forget the words. tree →
• The computer makes a soft hum. tree →
• The market was humming with people. tree →
• The hummingbird got its name from the hum of its wings. tree →
• The noisy hum of voices was hushed. tree →

note

Spelling: double «m» before «-ed» and «-ing»: hummed, humming. A «hummingbird» beats its wings so fast that they hum. You hum with your mouth closed; you whistle with your lips open in a small «o».

In the corpora

• Warm-ups such as lip trills and humming help the breath and the voice muscles work without strain.
• For fifteen minutes the house is so quiet she can hear the fridge hum.
• Many autistic children flap their hands, rock or hum to calm or enjoy themselves; this is called stimming.
• Touch your throat while you hum and you can feel your voice box vibrating.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «hum» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.