fume

¹fume

noun \ˈfyüm\

Definition of FUME

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 (as air)

2

: something (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\ adjective

— on fumes

: with little of the original strength or energy remaining <tired ballplayers running on fumes>

Origin of FUME

Middle English, from Anglo-French fum, from Latin fumus; akin to Old High German toumen to be fragrant, Sanskrit dhūma smoke, Old Church Slavic dymŭ

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

Rhymes with FUME

bloom, boom, broom, brume, combe, cwm, doom, flume, gloom, glume, groom, khoum, loom, neume, plume, rheum, room, spume, tomb, toom, vroom, whom, womb, zoom