(v. i.) To make a low, prolonged sound, like that of a bee in flight; to drone; to murmur; to buzz; as, a top hums.
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) To make an inarticulate sound, like h'm, through the nose in the process of speaking, from embarrassment or a affectation; to hem.
(v. i.) To express satisfaction by a humming noise.
(v. i.) To have the sensation of a humming noise; as, my head hums, -- a pathological condition.
(v. t.) To sing with shut mouth; to murmur without articulation; to mumble; as, to hum a tune.
(v. t.) To express satisfaction with by humming.
(v. t.) To flatter by approving; to cajole; to impose on; to humbug.
(n.) A low monotonous noise, as of bees in flight, of a swiftly revolving top, of a wheel, or the like; a drone; a buzz.
(n.) Any inarticulate and buzzing sound
(n.) The confused noise of a crowd or of machinery, etc., heard at a distance; as, the hum of industry.
(n.) A buzz or murmur, as of approbation.
(n.) An imposition or hoax.
(interj.) An inarticulate nasal sound or murmur, like h'm, uttered by a speaker in pause from embarrassment, affectation, etc.
(interj.) A kind of strong drink formerly used.
(interj.) Ahem; hem; an inarticulate sound uttered in a pause of speech implying doubt and deliberation.
Example Sentences:
(1) As he sits in Athens wondering when the International Monetary Fund is going to deliver another bailout, George Papandreou might be tempted to hum a few lines of Tired of Waiting for You.
(2) Although the cranes swing, much of the new living zones now being created range from the ho-hum to the outright catastrophic.
(3) Mononuclear cells were fractionated from human cord blood by affinity chromatography on immobilized peanut agglutinin, as previously described (Rosenberg et al., Hum Immunol 7:67, 1983).
(4) Managers scurry back and forth across the Atlantic with advance copies handcuffed to their wrists, critics are required to sign contracts promising that they will not so much as hum the contents to their nearest and dearest, and the music press acts as if the world is about to witness the most significant release since Nelson Mandela's.
(5) He shook his head from side to side, whispering or humming the same three-note tune.
(6) The apolipoprotein E3-Leiden variant has been shown to be associated with familial dysbetalipoproteinemia (FD) in a dominant manner (Havekes et al., Hum Genet 1986;73:157-163).
(7) The politics of football have long been accompanied by a background hum of corruption claims, but in recent times it has become a cacophony.
(8) Selling its own phone would mean it could make itself the background hum of many peoples' lives everywhere – and show adverts and collect data on its own terms.
(9) His father, who was fond of humming the popular ballad Keep Right on to the End of the Road, lost his job in the great depression of the early 1930s.
(10) Hollow-eyed children beg outside restaurants and cafes that hum with the chatter of shisha-smoking customers.
(11) Her hums on early awards buzz Speaking of Oscar contenders, it will be fascinating to see how Spike Jonze's latest movie pans out.
(12) That robs astronomy of one of its key recruiting tools: the chance to plant young scientists under the dish and let its hum capture their imagination.
(13) Four hours from the Zurich madhouse, Uefa’s base on the shores of Lake Geneva in Nyon hums with calm purpose.
(14) He made politics great again in the sense of getting people to care instead of allowing it to hum softly in the background.
(15) I am not sure that a lucrative career in rape gags is more helpful than a failed one, but the rape hum seems eternal.
(16) "I wouldn't say this agreement was entirely ho-hum but it does not address the big ticket issues.
(17) And I think Stephen hummed and hah-ed in an embarrassed fashion.
(18) humming, whistling) for atonal melody, but that non-musicians could not use any effective strategies for melody coding.
(19) At the moment the noise is like a city humming away.
(20) Without the faintest idea what I was humming along to, my mother left me to my obsession with nothing more than a shrug.
Shy
Definition:
(superl.) Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird.
(superl.) Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
(superl.) Cautious; wary; suspicious.
(a.) To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses.
(v. t.) To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper.
(n.) A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
(n.) A side throw; a throw; a fling.
Example Sentences:
(1) Philip Shaw, chief economist at broker Investec, expects CPI to hit 5.1%, just shy of the 5.2% reached in September 2008, as the utility hikes alone add 0.4% to inflation.
(2) The Vc was dramatically increased in the qk, slightly decreased in the shi, and close to control in the mld.
(3) Twellman has steadily grown in confidence as he settles into his role, though whether as a player or as an advocate he was never shy about voicing his opinions.
(4) It’s going to affect everybody.” The six songs from Rebel Heart released thus far do not shy away from controversy: one, Illuminati, mocks the various conspiracy theories on the internet that implicate a variety of entertainers – including Jay-Z and Lady Gaga – in membership of a shadowy ruling elite.
(5) But today, Americans increasingly no longer shy away from saying they oppose mosques on the grounds that Muslims are a threat or different.
(6) In general, we've shied away from offering opinions on the rest of the industry – I don't think it's appropriate.
(7) Never camera-shy, he also leaves his legacy on celluloid too.
(8) On the other hand, if past experience is anything to go by, this government isn’t shy of a U-turn ; and, if Whittingdale and his advisers aren’t completely deaf, they may at least detect that he would do well to keep the relish out of his voice as he announces the steps he intends to take.
(9) It’s as if they were a team away from the team, and they’re not shy of plugging into it.
(10) And just a few games shy of making history, the Warriors blew a 17-point lead and fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves – another team that didn’t even come close to making the playoffs – after forcing the game into overtime.
(11) She was a little shy as a child, a big reader who loved movies as much as books and thought from an early age that she would be a writer.
(12) By contrast, in Shy-Drager cases there was a highly significant reduction in intermediolateral column cells compared with the normal cords.
(13) A ceremony will take place at which Jolie will receive the child, who is said to be healthy, likeable, a bit shy and keen on football.
(14) A young, shy jihadi named Fouad took us into an abandoned building, where a meal was spread out on the floor.
(15) Sterling fell 1.3% against the dollar to $1.6495, just shy of a session low $1.6475.
(16) Estimates of panda numbers in the wild vary enormously due to the difficulty of collecting data about the notoriously shy animal, which lives in dense, high-altitude vegetation: the last survey required more than 35,000 volunteers.
(17) The move signals a change for Democrats , who have traditionally shied away from gun control in a state with a pioneer tradition of gun ownership.
(18) What's more, his genial stiffness and shy self-awareness give him a kind of awkward dignity compared to the preening smugness of Cruz.
(19) Pausing while much of the audience booed the protester, Obama responded: "We're not going to shy away from things that are uncomfortable."
(20) Another shy Tory, who teaches at a secondary school in north Kent, says she voted Ukip in the European elections.