mum
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mum¹
- /mʌm/
- /mʊm/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌm
Where it comes from
Alternative form of mam, or an abbreviation of mummy. Compare mom, mama.
noun mums · mam · mom · Mom · Mum
- mother From the Marvel Mixmaster to the Miracle Microwave, every time a new-fangled gadget has lobbed into the Aussie kitchen, Aussie mums have changed their cooking styles accordingly.
mum²
- /mʌm/
- /mʊm/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌm
Where it comes from
Abbreviation of chrysanthemum.
noun mums · 'mum
- A chrysanthemum. I don't know whether that's true or whether New Yorkers are being enjoined from watering the mums in their window boxes or whatever, but I do know that there hasn't been one rain-delay in the whole tournament so far […].
- A decoration traditionally made of chrysanthemums and ribbons, worn by girls at high school homecoming celebrations, marked with indicators such as the wearer's name, school, the year, and so on.
mum³
- /mʌm/
- /mʊm/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌm
Where it comes from
From Middle English mum or mom (“silent”), reminiscent of the sound made when gagged or with a hand over one's mouth. Perhaps related to dated German Mumme (“mask”).
adjective mumm
- Silent. The citizens are mum, and speak not a word.
- Secret. “Come here, friend,” sternly from the doctor. “Now I give you the way inside if you’ll promise to keep it mum.”
interjection mumm
- stop speaking!, stop talking!, hush! Mum, then, and no more.
verb mums · mumming · mummed · mumm
- To act in a pantomime or dumb show.
- To silence. "Well, Sal, you mum your dubber pretty generally, but when you do slacken your glib you may as well do it civilly."
noun mumm
- Silence. Entrust it under solemn Vows / Of Mum and Silence,[…]
mum⁴
- /mʌm/
- /mʊm/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌm
Where it comes from
From German Mumme.
noun
- A type of strong beer, originally made in Brunswick, Germany. The clamorous crowd is hushed with mugs of mum.
mum⁵
- /mʌm/
- /mʊm/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌm
Where it comes from
A variant of ma'am.
noun mums
- Alternative spelling of ma'am “Wy, mum,” said Mr. Weller, “I don’t think you’ll see a many sich, and that’s the truth. But if my son Samivel vould give me my vay, mum, and only dis-pense vith his—might I wenter to say the vurd?” / “What word Mr. Weller?” said the housekeeper, blushing slightly. / “Petticuts, mum,” returned that
Mum⁶
Where it comes from
Proprialisation of mum.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: mommy, mama, mom, momma, mammy, mater, silent, mummy, uncommunicative, mamma, incommunicative, ma, chrysanthemum morifolium, dendranthema grandifloruom, mam, moms
Translations
Every language
noun mother (informal, familiar)
| Español | mamá, madre |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 엄마 eomma, 어머니 eomeoni |
| 日本語 | お母さん okāsan, ママ mama, 母 haha |
| 中文 | 媽媽 /妈妈 māma, 娘 niáng, 媽 /妈 mā, 媽咪 /妈咪 māmi |
| हिन्दी | माँ mā̃, माताजी mātājī, अम्मी ammī, अम्माँ ammā̃ |
| Kiswahili | nina |
| Português | mamãe, mamã |
| Français | maman |
| Deutsch | Mutti, Mama, Mami, Mom, Mum |
| Italiano | mamma |
| Ελληνικά | μαμά mamá |
| Română | mămică, măicuță |
| Русский | ма́ма máma, ма́мочка mámočka, ма́тушка mátuška, маму́ся mamúsja, ма́менька mámenʹka, маму́ля mamúlja |
| Tiếng Việt | mẹ, má |
| العربية | أُمّ ʔumm, مَامَا māmā, مَامَان māmān |
| עברית | אִמָּא ímma |
Talk about this word "mum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mum "mum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mum.Cite this
@misc{mum_2026,
title = {mum},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mum},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
