humming
verbadjectivenouncommon in dialogue
- //ˈhʌmɪŋ//
Making a hum sound.
verb
- 1
Also a form of humpresent participle and gerund of hum
Etymology
From hum + -ing.
adjective
- 1
Making a hum sound.
- 2
archaicOf ale or beer: very strong.
But at night crowds of visitors called at his cot, / For he told a right marvellous tale; / Yet a stronger attraction by chance he had got, / A barrel of old humming ale.
- 3
slangVery bad-smelling.
noun
- 1
The sound of something that hums; a hum.
There are some contemporary additions to these scattered fragments from Shakespeare. Mostly they are songs; sometimes they are various screechings and hummings[…]
Etymology
From Middle English hummynge, equivalent to hum + -ing.
Forms
- plural
- hummings
- comparative
- more humming
- superlative
- most humming