um

um

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of um in English

English Online Dictionary. What means um‎? What does um mean?

Translingual

Etymology

u- (“micro-, 10-6”) + m (“metre”).

Symbol

um

  1. (international standards) Alternative form of µm

English

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʌm/
  • Rhymes: -ʌm (when stressed, or as a verb)

Used in rhotic dialects. Compare to British English erm.

Interjection

um

  1. Expression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation.
    Synonyms: er, hmm, uh, eh
  2. (chiefly US) Dated spelling of mmm.
  3. An expression to forcefully call attention to something wrong.
  4. (childish) An expression of shocked disapproval used by a child who witnesses forbidden behavior.

Verb

um (third-person singular simple present ums, present participle umming, simple past and past participle ummed)

  1. (intransitive) To make the um sound to express uncertainty or hesitancy.

Alternative forms

  • ahm, ehm, em, erm, hum, uhm, umm

Etymology 2

Variant form of -um.

Particle

um

  1. (dated, sometimes humorous, often offensive) An undifferentiated determiner or article; a miscellaneous linking word, or filler with nonspecific meaning; representation of broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans.

See also

Anagrams

  • -mu-, MU, Mu, mu

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *umъ

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈum]
  • Hyphenation: um
  • Rhymes: -um

Noun

um m inan

  1. skill, art

Declension

See also

  • schopnost
  • dovednost
  • umění

Further reading

  • “um”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “um”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • “um”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Dutch

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

um

  1. um (expressing hesitation)
    Synonyms: ehm, eh, uh

East Makian

Noun

um

  1. house

References

  • C. L. Voorhoeve, The Makian Languages and Their Neighbours (1982)

Elfdalian

Etymology

From Old Norse um, from Proto-Germanic *umbi. Cognate with Swedish om.

Conjunction

um

  1. if

Preposition

um

  1. around
  2. about (a subject)

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse umb, from Proto-Germanic *umbi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʊmː/

Preposition

um

  1. around [with accusative]
  2. about [with accusative]
  3. during [with accusative]
  4. through [with accusative]
  5. over [with accusative]

Conjunction

um

  1. whether, if

Galician

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈuŋ/ [ˈuŋ]
  • Rhymes: -uŋ
  • Hyphenation: um

Numeral

um m (feminine umha or uma, reintegrationist norm)

  1. one

Usage notes

The numeral um and its feminine forms umha and uma can form contractions with the prepositions com (“with”), de (“of, from”), and em (“in”).

Derived terms

  • cum, cumha, cuma
  • dum, dumha, duma
  • num, numha, numa

References

  • “um” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

German

Alternative forms

  • umb, ümb, üm (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German umbe, ümbe, from Old High German umbi, from Proto-West Germanic *umbi.

Central German dialects show regular umlaut; the standard form is from Upper German, where umlaut of -u- was blocked before labial geminates and clusters. Cognate with Luxembourgish ëm, Dutch om.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʊm/
  • Rhymes: -ʊm

Preposition

um [with accusative]

  1. about
    Es geht um den Kuchen. ― It's about the pie.
  2. around
    Um die Ecke ― around the corner
  3. at, by (when relating to time)
    Um acht Uhr reisen wir ab ― At eight o’clock we depart
  4. by (percentage difference)
    Die Verkaufsmengen gingen um 6% zurück. ― Sales in volume has decreased by 6%.
  5. (Austria) for (amount of money)
    Um einen Euro bekommt man heute nicht besonders viel. ― You can't buy much for one euro these days.
    Heute im Sonderangebot um nur 99 Euro. ― Special offer today for only 99 euros.

Inflection

Derived terms

  • (um + das) ums

Conjunction

um (introduces a zu-clause)

  1. in order to, so as to

Adjective

um (indeclinable, predicative only)

  1. (predicative, not attributive) up, in the sense of finished

Adverb

um

  1. around, about
  2. turned over, changed, from one state to another

Derived terms

Hawaiian Creole

Etymology

Derived from English ’em.

Pronoun

um

  1. them (those ones)

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /um/

Preposition

um (+ accusative)

  1. around
  2. at, by (when relating to time)

Derived terms

  • (um + das) ums

Adverb

um

  1. around, about

Further reading

  • Online Hunsrik Dictionary

Icelandic

Alternative forms

  • umb

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse um, inherited from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around, about”).

Adverb

um

  1. used in set phrases

Derived terms

  • um að gera
  • vera um og ó

Preposition

um [with accusative]

  1. about, concerning
  2. through, around, across
  3. throughout, over, around
  4. during, for, in, at
  5. approximately, about, around

Usage notes

  • Often used with phrases such as "brjóta heilann um".

Derived terms

Indo-Portuguese

Etymology

From Portuguese um (“a”), from Old Galician-Portuguese ũu, from Latin ūnus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos.

Article

um

  1. a (the indefinite article)

Irish

Alternative forms

  • im

Etymology

From Old Irish imb, from Proto-Celtic *ambi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʊmˠ/

Preposition

um (plus dative, triggers lenition, except of b, m, and p)

  1. about
  2. at
  3. because of, on account of

Inflection

Derived terms

  • uime

Further reading

  • Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “um”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Khasi

Etymology

Probably cognate to U ʔóm.

Noun

um

  1. water

References

  • H. Roberts, A Grammar of the Khasi Language

Ladino

Interjection

um

  1. (onomatopoeia) mmm (emotional expression of deliciousness)

Further reading

  • “um”, in Trezoro de la Lengua Djudeoespanyola.

Livonian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /um/

Verb

u'm

  1. first/third-person singular present indicative of vȱlda

Lote

Noun

um

  1. stone

References

  • Greg Pearson, René van den Berg, Lote Grammar Sketch (2008)

Luxembourgish

Contraction

um

  1. contraction of op + dem; on the, at the, to the
  2. contraction of un + dem

Mòcheno

Etymology

From Middle High German umbe, ümbe, from Old High German umbi, from Proto-West Germanic *umbi, from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around, about”). Cognate with German um.

Preposition

um (+ accusative)

  1. about, around
  2. (time) at
    Um biavle ist s? ― What time is it? (literally, “How many is it at?”)

References

  • “um” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse um.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʊmː/, [ʊmː], [umː], [ʊ̟mː], [ʉmː]

Preposition

um

  1. (pre-1938 or dialectal) alternative form of om

References

  • “um” in Ivar Aasen (1873) Norsk Ordbog med dansk Forklaring

Old Norse

Alternative forms

  • umb — older form

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around, about”). Cognate with Old English ymbe, Old Frisian umbe, ombe, Old Saxon umbi, Old High German umbi.

Preposition

um

  1. about, concerning [with accusative]
  2. round, past, beyond [with accusative]
  3. over, across, along [with accusative]
  4. during, at a point in time [with accusative]
  5. because of, for [with accusative]

Particle

um

  1. (Poetic Edda) indicates that the verbal action is completed, compare English “through” as in “read through”. For semantic development, compare adjectival usage of German um.
    • Vǫluspá, verse 2, lines 1-2, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 1:

Descendants

Further reading

  • Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “um”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
  • J. Fritzner (1867) “um”, in Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog (in Danish), Kristiania: Feilberg & Landmark

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German um, Dutch om, Old English ymb.

Preposition

um

  1. around

Pnar

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *ʔum (“tree”). Cognate with Khasi um.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʔum/

Noun

um

  1. water

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ũmъ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈum/
  • Rhymes: -um
  • Syllabification: um
  • Homophone: -um

Noun

um m inan

  1. (obsolete) mind, reason
    Synonyms: rozsądek, rozum, umysł

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

  • um in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Alternative forms

  • hum (obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese ũu (“one; a”), from Latin ūnum (“one”), from Old Latin oinos, from Proto-Italic *oinos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos (“one”). Doublet of uno.

Pronunciation

  • (São Miguel, Azores) IPA(key): (numeral) /ˈœ̃/, (article) /œ̃/
  • Rhymes: -ũ
  • Hyphenation: um

Numeral

um m (feminine uma)

  2. one
    Uma xícara de café ― One cup of coffee

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

Related terms

Descendants

  • Indo-Portuguese: um
  • Kabuverdianu: un

Article

um (feminine uma, masculine plural uns, feminine plural umas)

  2. (indefinite) a, an
    Um carro, uma casa. ― A car, a house.
    2. (in the plural) some; a few (a small number of)
      Uns carros, umas casas. ― A few cars, a few houses.
      Synonym: alguns
    4. (with uncountable nouns) a bit of
      Synonym: um pouco de
    6. (usually in the feminine, pronounced slowly, emphatically and with a high intonation) indicates that what follows is exceptional; quite a; quite the
      Synonym: aquele

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

See also

Noun

um m (plural uns)

  2. the figure or digit "1": one
    O um parece o sete sem gravata no pescoço. ― The one looks like the seven with no tie at its neck.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

Pronoun

um m or f (plural uns)

  2. a person; one; someone
    Chegou-me um e disse: "Olá!" ― One came to me and said: "Hello!"
  4. element(s) of a previously mentioned class: one; some (in the plural)
    Comprei uns e me decepcionei. ― I bought some and got disappointed.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

Romansch

Etymology

From Latin homō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ (“earthling”).

Noun

um m (plural umens)

  1. man
    Coordinate term: dunna
  2. husband
    Synonym: (Sutsilvan) cunsort
    Coordinate term: dunna

Sawai

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /um/

Noun

um

  1. house

Further reading

  • Donald A. Burquest, Wyn D. Laidig, Phonological Studies in Four Languages of Maluku (1992)

Scots

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʌm/, /əm/

Pronoun

um

  1. (Southern Scots, personal) him

See also

  • hei

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *umъ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ûːm/

Noun

ȗm m (Cyrillic spelling у̑м)

  1. mind
  2. intellect
  3. wit

Declension

Further reading

  • “um”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *umъ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [um]

Noun

um m inan

  1. mind
  2. intellect
  3. wit

Declension

Synonyms

  • rozum m
  • hlava f
  • zmysel m

Derived terms

  • umček
  • umný
  • umový

References

  • “um”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Bookmark
share
WebDictionary.net is an Free English Dictionary containing information about the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, definitions, translations, etymology and more.

Related Words

zum

volumes

volume

valium

vacuum

Browse the English Dictionary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

License

This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.