um

interjection
UK: /ʌm/
US: /ʌm/

  1. A sound that people make when they are thinking or hesitating.

    1. Um, I don't know the answer.
    2. Let me think, um, it was last Tuesday that we last met.

Synonyms

uh er well
um verb

  1. To make the sound 'um' when you are not sure what to say.

    1. He ummed but did not answer.
    2. The speaker ummed and aahed throughout his presentation, losing the audience.
um noun

  1. The utterance of 'um'.

    1. There were many ums in her speech.
    2. The interviewer counted the ums during the candidate's response.

Frequently Asked Questions

The phonetic transcription of "um" is /ʌm/ in British English and /ʌm/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "um": uh, er, well.

Example usage of "um": "Um, I don't know the answer.". More examples on the page.