Hum vs Tick - What's the difference?
hum | tick |
A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed.
An often indistinct sound resembling human humming.
* Shakespeare
Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive.
(UK, slang) unpleasant odour.
(dated) An imposition or hoax; humbug.
(obsolete) A kind of strong drink.
To make a sound from the vocal chords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed.
To express by humming.
To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly
* 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 2
To buzz, be busily active like a beehive
To produce low sounds which blend continuously
(British) To reek, smell bad.
(British) To deceive, or impose on one by some story or device.
(transitive, dated, slang) To flatter by approving; to cajole; to impose on; to humbug.
hmm; an inarticulate sound uttered in a pause of speech implying doubt and deliberation.
A relatively quiet but sharp sound generally made repeatedly by moving machinery.
A mark on any scale of measurement; a unit of measurement.
(computing) A jiffy (unit of time defined by basic timer frequency).
(colloquial) A short period of time, particularly a second.
(Australian, NZ, British) a mark () made to indicate agreement, correctness or acknowledgement; checkmark
A lifer (bird seen by a birdwatcher for the first time) that is uninteresting and routine, thus merely a tick mark on a list.
The whinchat; so called from its note.
To make a clicking noise similar to the movement of the hands in an analog clock.
To make a tick mark.
(informal) To work or operate, especially mechanically.
To strike gently; to pat.
* Latimer
(uncountable) Ticking.
A sheet that wraps around a mattress; the cover of a mattress, containing the filling.
(UK, colloquial) Credit, trust.
* 1974 , (GB Edwards), The Book of Ebenezer Le Page , New York 2007, p. 190:
As nouns the difference between hum and tick
is that hum is twilight, dusk while tick is a tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder ixodida or tick can be a relatively quiet but sharp sound generally made repeatedly by moving machinery or tick can be (uncountable) ticking or tick can be (uk|colloquial) credit, trust.As a verb tick is
to make a clicking noise similar to the movement of the hands in an analog clock or tick can be to go on trust, or credit.hum
English
(wikipedia hum)Noun
(en noun)- They could hear a hum coming from the kitchen, and found the dishwasher on.
- the shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums
- (Beaumont and Fletcher)
Verb
(humm)- We are humming happily along with the music.
- to hum a tune
- ''The hazers ominously hummed "We shall overcome" while they paddled the unruly pledges
- A slight gloom fell upon the table. Jacob was helping himself to jam; the postman was talking to Rebecca in the kitchen; there was a bee humming at the yellow flower which nodded at the open window.
- 'The streets were humming with activity.''
- This room really hums — have you ever tried spring cleaning, mate?
Derived terms
* hummer * hummingbird * humming-topSynonyms
* bumble * bustle * hustle * buzz * croon * whirAnagrams
*Interjection
(en interjection)- (Alexander Pope)
tick
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) , from (etyl), compare (etyl) (m), (etyl) (m).Derived terms
* tick bean * tick trefoilEtymology 2
From (etyl)Noun
(en noun)- The steady tick of the clock provided a comforting background for the conversation.
- At midday, the long bond is up a tick .
- I'll be back in a tick .
- Indicate that you are willing to receive marketing material by putting a tick in the box
Derived terms
* full as a tick * tick bite * ticker * ticking * tick off * tick over * tick-tack * tick-tockVerb
(en verb)- He took the computer apart to see how it ticked .
- I wonder what makes her tick .
- Stand not ticking and toying at the branches.
Derived terms
* tick all the boxesEtymology 3
From (etyl) (m), probably from (etyl), from (etyl)Noun
Synonyms
* tickingDerived terms
* tickingEtymology 4
From (m)Noun
(en noun)- He paid his mother-in-law rent and, when the baker or the butcher or the grocer wouldn't let her have any more on tick , he paid the bills.
