Hubbub

//ˈhʌbʌb// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A confused uproar, commotion, tumult or racket. countable, uncountable

    "At length a universal hubbub wild Of stunning sounds and voices all confused, Borne through the hollow dark, assaults his ear With loudest vehemence."

  2. 2
    Synonym of bowl game (“Native American game of chance”). uncountable
  3. 3
    loud confused noise from many sources wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To cause a tumult or racket. intransitive, rare

    "It becomes a grotto, hubbubbing with more noise than any class on a school visit could make, the air mobbed by breathless chatter about life and the transfer window."

Synonyms

All synonyms
brouhahauproaradoadoagitationapologetics

Example

More examples

"I hear the hubbub of the children in the background."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Mid 16th c. Perhaps from Irish; compare Irish ababú!, abú! (battle-cry), Scottish Gaelic ub! ub! (expressing contempt, etc.), ubh ubh! (expressing disgust).

Etymology 2

Imitating a word cried by the players.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.