noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
hyo͞o'məs
/ˈhjuːməs/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -uːməs
CMU ARPABET:HH Y UW1 M AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A large group of natural organic compounds, found in the soil, formed from the chemical and biological decomposition of plant and animal residues and from the synthetic activity of microorganisms.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Alternative spelling of hummus (“chickpea dip”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a thick spread made from mashed chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic; used especially as a dip for pita; originated in the Middle East
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hummus, hommos, hoummos, humous
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: spread, paste
4
noun
Meaning 4
partially decomposed organic matter; the organic component of soil
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: soil, dirt
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin humus.
Borrowed from Turkish humus or Arabic حُمُّص (ḥummuṣ).
Across languages
Translations
37 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Ahtna:
nenʼ łgedi
— group of compounds in soil
Arabic:
الدبال
(ad-dabāl)
— group of compounds in soil
Armenian:
հումուս
(humus)
— group of compounds in soil
Catalan:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Chinese Mandarin:
腐殖質 /腐殖质
(fǔzhízhì)
— group of compounds in soil
Czech:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Dutch:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Esperanto:
humo
— group of compounds in soil
Finnish:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Finnish:
mullas
— group of compounds in soil
French:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Galician:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Georgian:
ნეშომპალა
(nešomṗala)
— group of compounds in soil
Georgian:
ჰუმუსი
(humusi)
— group of compounds in soil
German:
Humus
— group of compounds in soil
German:
Hërt
— group of compounds in soil
Greek:
χούμος
(choúmos)
— group of compounds in soil
Irish:
húmas
— group of compounds in soil
Italian:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Japanese:
腐植土
(fushokudo)
— group of compounds in soil
Kazakh:
гумус
(gumus)
— group of compounds in soil
Kazakh:
қарашірік
(qaraşırık)
— group of compounds in soil
Korean:
부식질
(busikjil)
— group of compounds in soil
Malay:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Māori:
paraumu
— group of compounds in soil
Polish:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Polish:
próchnica
— group of compounds in soil
Portuguese:
húmus
— group of compounds in soil
Portuguese:
humo
— group of compounds in soil
Romanian:
humus
— group of compounds in soil
Russian:
гу́мус
(gúmus)
— group of compounds in soil
Russian:
перегно́й
(peregnój)
— group of compounds in soil
