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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

hmm.

Indicates thinking or pondering.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

intj/hm̩/UK, US[m̥m̩˦˨]UK, US

  1. Indicates thinking or pondering.

    Hmm... that's an interesting idea.
    Hmm... I just can't decide between the two.

  2. Indicates surprise or cluelessness; especially a response by a person who is questioned or addressed when not expecting it.

    "You there! Where are you going?" "Hmm? Oh, I just need to get a drink."
    "Could you pass me the paring knife?" "Hmm? What's a paring knife?"

  3. A demand for an answer to a question.

    Just where were you until 2 a.m.? Hmm?
Where this word comes from

See hum.

verb/hm̩/UK, US[m̥m̩˦˨]UK, US

  1. To make a thoughtful humming noise.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

See hum.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.