Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fume

/fjuːm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.63 in modern English

Syllables: fume
IPA: /fjuːm/

9

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A gas or vapour/vapor that is strong-smelling or dangerous to inhale.

noun

A material that has been vaporized from the solid or liquid state to the gas state and re-coalesced to the solid state.

noun

Rage or excitement which deprives the mind of self-control.

noun

Anything unsubstantial or airy; idle conceit; vain imagination.

noun

The incense of praise; inordinate flattery.

noun

A passionate person.

Obsolete

verb

To expose (something) to fumes; specifically, to expose wood, etc., to ammonia in order to produce dark tints.

Transitive verb

verb

To apply or offer incense to.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Don't stand around in there breathing the fumes while the adhesive cures."
"the fumes of new-shorn hay"
"Lead fume is a greyish powder, mainly comprising lead sulfate."
"The Fumes of his Passion do as really intoxicate and confound his judging and discerning Faculty , as the Fumes of Drink discompose and stupify the Brain of a Man over - charged with it."
"In his execution of this mission, Mr Tinkler perhaps expressed that Mr Dorrit was in a raging fume."
"a show of fumes and fancies"

Etymology

From Middle English fume, from Old French fum (“smoke, steam, vapour”), from Latin fūmus (“vapour, smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós (“smoke”), from *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Doublet of thymus and thymos. More at dun, dusk, dust.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *dʰewh₂-, fume, fum, fūmus, *dʰuh₂mós

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /fjuːm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

fumes (plural) fumes (present, singular) fuming (participle, present) fumed (participle, past) fumed (past)

Derived Forms

fumacious fumed fumeless fumelike fumewort fumish fumivorous fumulus fumy

Phrases

exhaust fume fume cupboard fume date fume hood metal fume fever fuming sulfuric acid

Synonyms

effluvium smoke reek fumigate

Rhymes With

room whom assume boom costume resume bloom tomb consume zoom doom perfume

Questions

How do you pronounce fume?: The recorded pronunciation is /fjuːm/.
What does fume mean?: A gas or vapour/vapor that is strong-smelling or dangerous to inhale.
Where does fume come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce fume

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