fume

1 of 2

noun

ˈfyüm How to pronounce fume (audio)
Synonyms of fumenext
1
a
: a smoke, vapor, or gas especially when irritating or offensive
engine exhaust fumes
b
: an often noxious suspension of particles in a gas (such as air)
2
: something (such as an emotion) that impairs one's reasoning
sometimes his head gets a little hot with the fumes of patriotism—Matthew Arnold
3
: a state of excited irritation or anger
—usually used in the phrase in a fume
fumy
ˈfyü-mē How to pronounce fume (audio)
adjective

fume

2 of 2

verb

fumed; fuming

transitive verb

1
: to expose to or treat with fumes
2
: to give off in fumes
fuming thick black smoke
3
: to utter while in a state of excited irritation or anger

intransitive verb

1
a
: to emit fumes
b
: to be in a state of excited irritation or anger
fretted and fumed over the delay
2
: to rise in or as if in fumes
Phrases
on fumes
: with little of the original strength or energy remaining
tired ballplayers running on fumes

Synonyms

Verb

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of fume in a Sentence

Verb She's still fuming about not being invited to the party. We sat there waiting for him, fuming with anger at the delay. “They made these changes without even asking our opinion,” one employee fumed. The volcano was fuming thick black smoke.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
So can breathing in the fumes be bad for your health? —Sherri Gordon, Health, 3 Oct. 2024 Close the drain tightly with a plug to prevent chlorine fumes from escaping. —Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2024
Verb
And while that might be totally valid, fuming about your mom’s or dad’s shortcomings will likely trap you in a bad mood. —Julia Ries, SELF, 20 Nov. 2024 Those who get annoyed at stores stocking holiday decorations right after Halloween would have fumed at the droves of people decked out in Santa hats and holiday regalia for Mariah Carey’s Christmastime at Moody Center on Sunday. —Mars Salazar, Austin American-Statesman, 18 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fume 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, "smoke, exhalation," borrowed from Anglo-French fum, going back to Latin fūmus "smoke, fumes," going back to Indo-European *dhuh2-mó- "smoke, vapor" (whence also Old Church Slavic dymŭ "smoke," Lithuanian dū́mai, Sanskrit dhūmáḥ, and probably Greek thȳmós "spirit, mind, courage"), noun derivative from a verbal base *dhu̯eh2- or *dheu̯h2- "produce smoke by burning," whence Greek thýō, thýein "to sacrifice," Latin suffiō, suffīre "to subject to smoke, fumigate," Old Church Slavic dujǫ, duti "to blow" and perhaps Tocharian B twās- "kindle, ignite"

Note: Also allied are Hittite tuhhae-, perhaps "to smoke out, drive out by smoke," from an unattested noun derivative (earlier glossed as "gasp, cough"; see A. Kloeckhorst, Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Brill, 2008); and Old High German toum "vapor, smoke," Middle Dutch doom "vapor, steam," going back to Germanic *dauma-, presumably from an o-grade derivative *dhou̯h2-mo-. Greek thȳmós is an exact phonetic correspondent to the other words, though the sense divergence suggests influence from some phonetically similar base of different meaning.

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fume was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing fume

Dictionary Entries Near fume

fumblingness

fume

fume chamber

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Fume.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fume. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

fume

1 of 2 noun
ˈfyüm How to pronounce fume (audio)
: a disagreeable smoke, vapor, or gas
—usually used in plural
acid fumes
fumy
ˈfyü-mē How to pronounce fume (audio)
adjective

fume

2 of 2 verb
fumed; fuming
1
: to expose to or treat with fumes
2
: to give off fumes
3
: to show bad temper or anger

More from Merriam-Webster on fume

Nglish: Translation of fume for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of fume for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fume

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
sweet smart pug puppy dog sitting in front of blackboard with chalk question marks
Commonly Confused Words Quiz Vol. 3 Do you have a (flare/flair) for choosing the righ...