um

Meanings

1. 1
   intj

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

   Um, I need a moment to check the answer.

2. 2
   noun

   an occurrence of the hesitation sound um

   The speaker paused with several ums before answering.

3. 3
   verb

   to make the sound um while hesitating

   He ummed for a moment before accepting the invitation.

4. 4
   pron

   dialectal pronunciation spelling of them, often elsewhere written 'em

   You cannot catch um all by hand.

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.

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