um

A2 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /ʌm/ UK /ʌm/ See IPA manual

Freq #322

Meanings

1

intj
a sound used while hesitating, thinking, or searching for words

Um, I need a moment to check the answer.
2

noun
an occurrence of the hesitation sound um

The speaker paused with several ums before answering.
3

verb
to make the sound um while hesitating

He ummed for a moment before accepting the invitation.
4

pron
dialectal pronunciation spelling of them, often elsewhere written 'em

You cannot catch um all by hand.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 intj · a sound used while... uh er hmm

2 noun · an occurrence of the... hesitation

3 verb · to make the sound um while... hesitate

4 pron · dialectal pronunciation... them

Word family

Derived forms ummingummed

Related forms uh erfillerhesitation

Etymology

An imitative spelling of a common hesitation sound. Its use as a noun and verb developed from the interjection. In some literary representations of regional speech, um also records a reduced pronunciation of them, comparable to 'em.

Topics

Grammar & Function Words Register & Style

External links

# um

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** intj, noun, verb, pron
**IPA (US):** /ʌm/
**IPA (UK):** /ʌm/
**Frequency rank:** 322

## Meanings
1. a sound used while hesitating, thinking, or searching for words
2. an occurrence of the hesitation sound um
3. to make the sound um while hesitating
4. dialectal pronunciation spelling of them, often elsewhere written 'em

## Examples
- Um, I need a moment to check the answer.
- The speaker paused with several ums before answering.
- He ummed for a moment before accepting the invitation.
- You cannot catch um all by hand.

## Synonyms
- uh
- er
- hmm
- hesitation
- them

## Derived Forms
- umming
- ummed

## Related Forms
- uh
- er
- filler
- hesitation

## Etymology
An imitative spelling of a common hesitation sound. Its use as a noun and verb developed from the interjection. In some literary representations of regional speech, um also records a reduced pronunciation of them, comparable to 'em.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words
- Register & Style

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um