Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

humdinger

/hʌmˈdɪŋ.ɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.77 in modern English

Syllables: humdinger
IPA: /hʌmˈdɪŋ.ɚ/

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Something that is particularly outstanding, unusual, or exceptional.

Informal

Example Sentences

"Most of the questions were pretty easy, but that last one was a humdinger."
"“—immense. I'm a real, slam-bang, honest-to-goodness, three-fisted humdinger. I'm a bona fide supraman.” “Superman?” Clevinger cried. “Superman?” “Supraman,” Yossarian corrected."
"“I’ve seen some humdingers, but never any ordinance like this,” said Mark Hayes, general counsel for the Arkansas Municipal League, an organization for towns and cities."

Etymology

US origin, perhaps a blend of hummer (“something that moves fast”) + dinger (“something outstanding”). First attested in a newspaper article in the Daily Enterprise of June 4, 1883, at Livingston, Montana.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /hʌmˈdɪŋ.ɚ/
British English: /hʌmˈdɪŋ.ə(ɹ)/

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

humdingers (plural)

Rhymes With

singer winger springer ringer stringer stinger swinger bringer zinger slinger dinger wringer

Questions

How do you pronounce humdinger?: The recorded pronunciation is /hʌmˈdɪŋ.ɚ/.
What does humdinger mean?: Something that is particularly outstanding, unusual, or exceptional.
Where does humdinger come from?: US origin, perhaps a blend of hummer (“something that moves fast”) + dinger (“something outstanding”). First attested in a newspaper article in the Daily Enterprise of June 4, 1883, at Livingston, Montana.

How to pronounce humdinger

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hʌmˈdɪŋ.ɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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