hummer
US/ˈhʌmɚ/
hummer noun: one who hums.
Noun (1)
hummer (plural hummers)
- One who hums.
- Judy hummed to herself. “My mother was a hummer,” LeVecque said, without looking at her.2011, Peter Blauner, Man of the Hour: A Mystery
- Will you be a singer or sad scared little hummer?2013, Chris Lynch, Whitechurch
- A Humvee.
- A type of vehicle resembling a jeep but bulkier.
- The newlyweds took a hummer limo back to their casino resort.
- Some playa's^([sic]) had went^([sic]) all out, showing up in chauffeured Navigator and Hummer limousines.2008, Mikal Malone, Pitbulls In A Skirt, page 6
- A hummingbird.
- July roth saw the first spotted egg hardly larger than a “hummer's,” lying in the nest.1911, Jennie Brooks, Under Oxford Trees, page 165
- The Sargents' status as hummingbird gurus is unrivaled and well deserved. They began banding hummers back in 1988, when, Bob says, there were only 28 other banders in the country.2007, Wonderful West Virginia, volume 71, page 5
- A humdinger; something or someone exceptional or outstanding of their type.
- "Ain't it a hummer of a day?" Jim exclaimed, suddenly, looking toward the valley swimming in a silver mist below us. "By Jiminy! it makes a man feel like living, don't it?"1903, Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Under Dog, page 184
- Dad's a real hummer at poker.1905, Christman, Beautiful Maoriland, page 22
- A machine that runs particularly well and smoothly.
- “How'd you do with the rig?” Tater asked. Bubba did the sniff and wipe number again. “Piece a cake. That baby's a real hummer, Tater.”1997, Susan Rogers Cooper, Home Again, Home Again
- You'll have to drive this here automobile; she is a real hummer.2010, Dominic Contreras, Operation Infidel, page 110
- A very energetic or lively person; a powerful lively thing.
- I had a thousand liars, perjurers and villains call on me, and six genuine survivors of Lafitte's band; besides quite a delegation of widows and daughters and offspring of the late lamented pirate. No less than ten of his widows turned up; Jean must have been a hummer!1897, Archibald Clavering Gunter, Bob Covington: A Novel, page 215
- He drinks, swears, smokes, plays cards, and when it comes to ragtime, my boy, he can beat any man on the stage. Oh, you bet he is a hummer, all right!1904, Bernard Francis Moore, Judazuma, the Man of Mystery, page 11
- A place, event etc. that is bustling or full of activity.
- [Heading: The Conferences] St. Joe was a hummer. It was largely attended, enthusiastic, and splendidly entertained by the pastor, Rev. J. Simons, and his people.1902, Religious Telescope, volume 68, Church of the United Brethren in Christ (New constitution), page 17
- “The best Reunion class of all will be back in Jersey on June 6 to 10, for a real off-year reunion, which will be a hummer.[…]”1913 May 14, “The Alumni”, in The Princeton Alumni Weekly, volume 13, number 32, '07, page 614
- Something that generates a lot of attention, talk, and excitement.
- Lansing Rubber Company Will Be Real Hummer1913, Michigan Manufacturer & Financial Record - Volume 11, page 11
- Let us make this department a real hummer. Not a blessed club should be unrepresented. Even the most modest among us likes publicity.1914, “What The Clubs are Doing and Why”, in Associated Advertising, volume 5, page 53
- A fastball.
- Branca, concentrating so intently that he didn't hear the braying crowd, threw a hummer down the middle.2015, Andrew Goldblatt, The Giants and the Dodgers, page 115
- Fellatio, especially when the person performing the act vibrates their mouth by humming.
- My mama says they make Danish jelly out of cow balls, man. Eating that's like giving a heifer a hummer.2003, Michael Griffith, Bibliophilia: A Novella and Stories, page 217
- After all that bickering over Eddie Kissena, Charity goes into the ladies room and finds Denise Slater on her knees, giving him a hummer.2004, N.H. Avenue, For Pete's Sake
- Someone who upsets or irritates others; a trouble-maker or controversial figure.
- Of all the onnery new galoots That come to Scrambletown that summer, The meanest cuss—you bet your boots— Was H.A. Jones. He was a hummer! This Jones he was the biggest liar In all that country, all aroun' ; And by the high celestial choir, The liars there was hard to down,—In Scrambletown.1903, Charles August Fisher, The Minstrel with the Selfsame Song: And Other Poems, page 116
- I nade not say that we do not want the wan whom a gang av political hummers and gutther-politicians have nominated.1916 April 29, Tom Teaser, “Muldoon's Boarding House”, in Happy Days, page 9
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- The condition of having no money.
- During the course of their restless, feverish careers they solicit insurance, collect for instalment houses, work advertising schemes, and finally land square on the hummer.1907, Kin Hubbard, Abe Martin's Almanack
- "It's the crooks and the fourflushers who have put the boxing game on the hummer," the champion was saying.1913, Collier's - Volume 52, page 37
- An admirer.
- The description therefore which the Duke of Ormond's correspondent gives of himself accords in no way with the early experience of the fluent extempore preacher whose eloquence roused Evelyn's enthusiasm, and was so generally admired that when he had preached the hour-glass out, his "hummers" used...1868 October 3, James Silk Buckingham, John Sterling, Frederick Denison Maurice, “Our Library Table”, in The Athenaeum, page 431
- A tantrum or fuss.
- In 1970 she threw a real hummer in her widely acclaimed article for the New York Times entitled “And Don't Call Them 'Lady' Composers” which attacked the music establishment for its sexist practices and its willful dismissal of women's participation and achievement (Oliversos 1970).2011, Martha Mockus, Sounding Out: Pauline Oliveros and Lesbian Musicality, page 70
- A lie or tall tale.
- It is not supposed that there is now, or that there ever was a man in Madison county who would willfully lie to hurt a fellow-man, or even to enhanced his own interests, but for your spinning yarns and big story telling, she has had some "hummers."1897, John La Rue Forkner, Byron H. Dyson, Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, page 615
- "We'll 'salt' 'Paradise' and work her off for a hummer." "But that will be swindling," protested Clark.1900 May, M. Quad, “How Major Wharton Let Go”, in The National Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume 12, number 2, page 85
- A liar.
- The fine lady thinks she has wit, when she scandalizes her absent neighbours; and the hummer, when he hath told a lye with a grave face;1763, “The Wit of the Age”, in The London Magazine, Or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, page 291
- Something that smells very bad.
- […] stench. It was a real hummer, that's for sure. The doc went back inside and returned moments later […]2008, Steven Webb, Ops Medic: A National Serviceman's Border War, page 140
Noun (2)
hummer (plural hummers)
- An arrest on false pretexts.
- The conspiracy rap was a hummer.1967, Ross Macdonald, Archer in Hollywood, page 53
- She mentioned the cute little Eyetalian cop that booked her on a hummer.2008, Joseph Wambaugh, The New Centurions
Interjection
hummer
- A euphemism for the devil or the infernal regions
- To hummer! wi th' 'flittin! let's have a pint1884, John Hartley, Clock Almanac
- Thoo gan ti hummer1890, John Nicholson, Folk Lore of East Yorkshire, page 105
Noun (3) capitalized: Hummer
Hummer (plural Hummers)
- A brand of sport utility vehicles sold by General Motors, and by extension, any large similar vehicle.
- Hummers are a somewhat unusual sight in New York. The kinds of people who like them as status symbols often don’t like the city’s narrow, messy street configurations, which can be hard for bulky vehicles to manage.2022, N. K. Jemisin, The World We Make, Orbit, page 272
- The HMMWV or Humvee, a US Army vehicle which replaced the Jeep.
- "The vehicle is called the 'Hummer,' a contrived abbreviation of its official designation, 'High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.'"1985, Andy Rooney, Pieces of my Mind, →ISBN, page 38
- "The Hummer, a clumsy, elongated vehicle the Army intended as a replacement for the hardy Jeep, developed so many problems it became known as the Bummer."1985, James Coates, Michael Kilian, Heavy Losses: The Dangerous Decline of American Defense, →ISBN, page 25
Proper noun capitalized: Hummer
Hummer
- A surname from German
hummer meaning in Tamil
hummer in Tamil
- முரலுபவர்
Examples of hummer in a sentence
- Another report: “The queen that I had from you last year has proved a real hummer.1909, British Bee Journal - Volume 37, page 230:
- As a salesman, before long, he became a real hummer, And the Monnig's concluded to make him a drummer.1913, The Journal of the Switchmen's Union of North America, page 550:
- After takeoff, coming back around the runway, I decided to give them a real hummer.2003, Lou Fulgaro, The R46 and Little Louie, page 280:
- You don't want to miss out on this grand prize—it's a real hummer of a deal.2006, Vicki Courtney, Between: A Girls Guide to Life, page 147:
Forms of hummer
| plural | hummers |
|---|---|
| plural | Hummers |
| alternative form | hummer |
Origin of hummer
From hum + -er.
Unknown
From Humvee + -er.
Words that rhyme with hummer
Questions about hummer
- What does hummer mean?
- Hummer means one who hums.
- What is hummer in Tamil?
- Hummer in Tamil is முரலுபவர். See Hummer meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use hummer in a sentence?
- Another report: “The queen that I had from you last year has proved a real hummer.
- What part of speech is hummer?
- Hummer can be a noun, an interjection or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce hummer?
- Hummer is pronounced /ˈhʌmɚ/ (US).
- What is the plural of hummer?
- The plural of hummer is hummers.
Words near hummer in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hummer (page history and authors); Hummer (page history and authors); hummer (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-hummer.ogg.
Cite this entry: “hummer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hummer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.