Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use um in a sentence

40 example sentences · interjection, verb, noun

Um means expression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation. Example: “Um, I don’t know.”

Examples of um by meaning

interjectionExpression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation.

  • Um, I don’t know.
  • It's a great test of the claims of open-source gurus, who say that a self-motivated community can outcode any team working for a single employer—like, um, Microsoft.2002, “Newsweek”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 140, page lxxx

interjectionAn expression to forcefully call attention to something wrong.

  • Um, excuse me!

interjectionAn expression of shocked disapproval used by a child who witnesses forbidden behavior.

  • If anyone threatened to tease her, Mair would stand up straight, point her finger at the enemy and shout, 'Um!2021, Sarah Strangeways, The Gingerbread House, page 13

verbTo make the um sound to express uncertainty or hesitancy.

  • Meanwhile, in the popular mind umming was simply a bad habit, akin to spitting or picking one’s nose.2007, Michael Erard, Um... Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean, page 136

nounAn occurrence of the interjection "um".

  • Although Shakespeare refers to “hums and ha’s,” sifting through etiquette manuals and public-speaking guides turns up scant evidence of a prohibition against ums, ers and uhs, which are profuse in the first recording of Thomas Edison’s voice, in 1888.2007 August 24, William Grimes, “Uh, Lead My Rips: No More Bloopers”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 04 Jan 2013

More sentences with um

  • Uh, um, and well are common filled pauses among English speakers.From the entry filled pause
  • He ummed and erred his way through the presentation.From the entry er
  • In Latin, 'amicus' belongs to the second declension. Most second-declension nouns end in '-i' in the genitive singular and '-um' in the accusative singular.From the entry declension
  • And I learned a lot, and, um, some of it seemed a little bit too interesting?2024 March 1, F1NN5TER, 1:12 from the start, in Coming Out, archived from the original on 14 May 2024. From the entry shut down
  • The Russians managed to advance somewhat in the direction of, um, Siversk.2024 September 21st, Torsten Heinrich M.A. (channel name: “Military & History”), TWO MORE Ammo Depots blown up. Up to 40.000 TONS of Ammo…. From the entry Vyimka
  • And, um (clicks tongue) cut us a few wodges of brack while you’re at it.2020 January 6, Joe Murtagh, Colin Barrett, 01:18:44 from the start, in Calm With Horses (film), spoken by Hector (David Wilmott). From the entry wodge
  • "Are the, um, eldritch runes supposed to glow like that?" "Dunno.2016, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 3242: The Dunkelest Brau. From the entry rune
  • Um, anything that's not too expensive.” “Great order.” “(chuckling) Oh, please.2016 April 11, Ali Waller, “The Unincludeds” (3:58 from the start), in American Dad!, season 13, episode 11, spoken by Roger (Seth…. From the entry mostarda
  • “Ah, um, only the undresser is allowed to touch the undressee.”2016, Linda Andrews, A Time For Us, page 184. From the entry undressee
  • "That way, it'll be safe for the nippers, but accessible to, um, well wishers.2014, Nancy Atherton, chapter 7, in Aunt Dimity & the Wishing Well (Aunt Dimity series; 19), London: Headline Publishing Group, →ISBN…. From the entry well-wisher
  • Well this guy- he lived out on the highway um, near Haileybury.2010, Carrie Tippman, quotee, “Bush Party”, in Ontario Dialects Project, Toronto: University of Toronto, archived from the original on 21…. From the entry bush party
  • Mind you, I do miss the royal, um, you know . . . plumpy-feathersome- spring-'n'-bounce?"2007, Angela McAllister, Ian Beck, Digory and the Lost King. From the entry feathersome
  • Fuller, um, we, um, got your biopsy back and it’s um, skin cancer.”2005, Tammi Leader Fuller, “The Big C”, in Dish & Tell: Life, Love, and Secrets, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow, →ISBN, section 5 (Going…. From the entry peely
  • Meanwhile, "Mr Spears is keen on protecting his cash cow, um, wife.2004 October 5, “Britney's new digs”, in The Age (Australia), retrieved 30 Oct 2008. From the entry cash cow
  • Um, I can't think of a hobby with more diverse interests than ours.2004 March 6, Jeffrey Henning <jeffrey@henning.com>, “Re: Was Tolkien a good conlanger? (was: Re: Good Books”, in Conlang mailing list…. From the entry neography
  • I can always tell a, um, Hogwartian,” said Jack Flash cheerily.2003, J.B. Miller, “J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Rolling Stone”, in The Satanic Nurses: And Other Literary Parodies, New York…. From the entry Hogwartian
  • Um, I mean, yeah, Ma, I could do with something to eat.”2002, Jack Hanson, Wildgun: Winter Hunt, Jove. From the entry meatbag
  • “This is a rather. . .um. . .religist one,” he said.2001, Nick Choo, Trippers, →ISBN, page 294. From the entry religist
  • Tell Sick Boy tae gie us a bell if ye see um.1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, “The First Shag in Ages”, in Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 151. From the entry bar
  • I don't think some of your—um—pure-blooded Dwarfs have as much woodcraft as might be expected.1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia. From the entry woodcraft
  • "I um, heard about the DPS race yesterday!2025, Cube Kid [pseudonym; Erik Gunnar Taylor], Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Hour of Enchantment, page 117. From the entry sagely
  • There we have the Russians advancing, um, close to Kyslivka.2024 September 21st, Torsten Heinrich M.A. (channel name: “Military & History”), TWO MORE Ammo Depots blown up. Up to 40.000 TONS of Ammo…. From the entry Kyslivka
  • What d'ya say?” “Oh, um . . . well .2019, Sarah Grace Grzy, Live Without You, Ichthus Family Publications, →ISBN. From the entry honeygirl
  • “Um, what is a Pimm’s Cup?” Mardi said.2016, Melissa de la Cruz, Double Eclipse, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN, page 20. From the entry Pimm's Cup
  • Cats and basketball may not seem like a good mix, but for one Chicago-area man, they go together, um, purrfectly.2015 June 25, Marissa Payne, “Hoops is catnip for ‘NBA Catwatch’”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company…. From the entry purrfectly
  • So when you put a male guard into a diaper, the, um, liquid can't flow into the padding of the diaper.2014, Susan Allen Toth, No Saints Around Here: A Caregiver's Days, University of Minnesota Press, →ISBN, unnumbered page. From the entry booster pad
  • Um, hey, Counselor, can you stop streaming Gilmore Girls on Netflix long enough to present your case to the jury?2012, Jen Lancaster, Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult's Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development, or, Why It's Never Too Late for Her…. From the entry kthxbai
  • Here’s, um, not toast but bread, anyway.2010, Denise Mina, Still Midnight. From the entry ginger
  • If you were to transcribe what he says, its very unfluent, its very: ah, um, uh, he said.2007 October 28, Caryn James, “The Sound of Personalities Clashing”, in New York Times. From the entry unfluent
  • He's almost as nutbar as that, um, other guy.2001 October 10, Dan Hartung, “Ariel Sharon Declares War On USA”, in alt.true-crime (Usenet). From the entry nutbar
  • One confessed to necking in a graveyard, and another to her, um, induction into the Mile Long Club.1997 November, Nick Paumgarten, “Into Training”, in Skiing, page 20E. From the entry Mile Long Club
  • Um's own mumsy make ums all right, um's p'eshus Flopit!1917, Booth Tarkington, Seventeen. From the entry ickle
  • What can I get you?” “I guess I'll have the beet salad, and, um, the risotto, and a glass of red wine.2016 April 11, Ali Waller, “The Unincludeds” (3:58 from the start), in American Dad!, season 13, episode 11, spoken by Roger (Seth…. From the entry mostarda
  • Due to, um, some factors (and despite several others), I started the idea of ebonifying him but couldn’t get it to snuff on my own.2012 September 23, Hellactic Translator Caphi, “Things of the Fortnight”, in https://shininggalaxy.wordpress.com/, people. From the entry ebonify

Meaning of um

  1. interjection Expression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation.
  2. interjection Dated spelling of mmm.
  3. interjection An expression to forcefully call attention to something wrong.

Full definition of um

Questions about um in a sentence

How do you use um in a sentence?
Um is used as an interjection, verb and noun. For example: “Um, I don’t know.”
What is a short sentence with um?
“Um, excuse me!”
What does um mean?
Um means expression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: um (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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