Mhm

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. A wordless vocal sound made with the mouth closed to show agreement, understanding, or that one is listening
2. An informal interjection voiced with a closed mouth to signal assent or that a remark has been heard and understood
3. A brief murmured noise, usually made without opening the lips, that conveys yes or acknowledgment in casual speech

Etymology: "Mhm" is a nasalized version of "uh-huh", the small agreeing noise people make while listening. Pronouncing the vowel through a closed mouth, with the sound humming in the nose, turns the two-syllable "uh-huh" into a single hummed syllable. The two forms do the same job, and the difference is mostly in how the sound is produced. Both words belong to a class of imitative sounds, noises that come from the body rather than from ordinary speech. Linguists group them with things like "shh" and "tsk", which convey meaning through their sound and sit outside the normal sentence structure. Because they are made with the mouth mostly closed, they are easy to produce while someone else is talking, which suits a word meant to signal attention without interrupting.

Synonyms: uh-huh, yes

Antonyms: uh-uh, no