What does "humbug" mean?
A hoax, jest, or prank.
Humbug
/ˈhʌmbʌɡ/ intj, noun, verb, slang
intj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hoax, jest, or prank.
- Grammar: humbug is listed as intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: fraud, hoax, absurdity, acting.
- Useful contrasts: accuracy, certainly, expose.
- Usage evidence: My profession? Poet and humbug.
How to use "humbug"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "humbug" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "humbug" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "humbug" is acting as intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hoax, jest, or prank. countable, slang
"The universal jester: or, a pocket companion for the wits. Being a choice collection of merry conceits, facetious Drolleries, humorous Waggeries, smart Repartees, pleasant Jokes, Clenchers, Closures, Bon Mots, and Humbugs; comic Stories, notable Puns, witty Quibbles, and ridiculous Bulls. To which are added, Mr. Puzzlewit's gimcracks ; or, A long String of out-o'th'-way Conundrums, diverting Rebusses, poignant Epigrams, odd and uncommon Epitaphs, &c. &c. All calculated to promote inoffensive Mirth, and divert good Company with Elegance and Taste. Containing more in Number, and greater Variety, than any Book of the Kind yet published. Humbly inscribed to the choice spirits of the age. By Ferdinando Killigrew, Esq."
- 2 something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage wordnet
- 3 A fraud or sham; (uncountable) hypocrisy. countable, slang
"Look at the affairs of nations on the widest scale—look at their intercourse with each other—look at the manifestoes, by which war is declared—look at the treaties, by which peace is restored—look at the professions of kings, or popes, or generals, or ministers. Is not cant, humbug, hypocrisy, the staple of them all? What is modern diplomacy, but a system of duplicity and deceit?"
- 4 communication (written or spoken) intended to deceive wordnet
- 5 A cheat, fraudster, or hypocrite. countable, slang
"He is a political humbug, the greatest of all humbugs; a man who swaggers about London clubs and consults solemnly about his influence, and in the country is a nonentity."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 pretentious or silly talk or writing wordnet
- 7 Nonsense. slang, uncountable
"When they had gone, Ma Potter opened her eyes. She said, "Pay no attention, child. Don't upset yourself. Just humbug, that's all." / "What do you mean?" Cora whispered. […] "You mean, telling lies?" / "Not altogether. Humbuggery is what people talk without thinking. Lies are deliberate. Are you a clever child?""
- 8 A type of hard sweet (candy), usually peppermint flavoured with a striped pattern. British, countable
"[…] and if Albert Dykes wasn't sucking a mint humbug, my nose is not what it is and always has been."
- 9 Anything complicated, offensive, troublesome, unpleasant or worrying; a misunderstanding, especially if trivial. US, countable, slang
- 10 A fight. US, countable, slang
"Yet, for all the ferocity, the fights were short-lived. Every group except the Vice Kings, who had been most threatened, were brought under control fairly quickly and stayed to see the basketball game—only the Vice Kings missed it. Moreover, despite talk of retaliation, the humbug was self-contained; […]"
- 11 A gang. US, countable, dated, slang
- 12 A false arrest on trumped-up charges. US, countable, slang
""Let's talk first, Mr. Brown," Sergeant Murillo said. "Do you remember telling these officers you were going to sue them for false arrest?" / Bootsie Brown paused with the cookie halfway to his lips and said, "I mighta. It was a humbug arrest. That's why they let me and Axel outta jail in forty-eight hours. We was jist tryin' to have an Irish wake for good old Coleman.""
- 13 The piglet of the wild boar. countable, slang
"Many have been cross-bred with commercial breeds such as Tamworths, producing a "superbreed" of fertile boar, which were "more robust", and could produce five or six young. known as humbugs, per litter."
Verb
- 1 To play a trick on someone, to cheat, to swindle, to deceive. slang
"Here's a Humbugger come, / Will prove the reſt nothing at all, / 'Tis a Jobber, a Factor, / A damn'd Corn Contractor, / Who makes all our Loaves be ſo ſmall; […] And may all ſuch elves, / Be thus Humbugg'd themſelves, / Who thus are Humbugging the poor: / And as ſure as the Bone makes the Cleaver to ſound, / Humbugging, Humbugging goes all the world round."
- 2 trick or deceive wordnet
- 3 To fight; to act tough. US, slang
- 4 To waste time talking. obsolete, slang
Intj
- 1 Balderdash!, nonsense!, rubbish! slang
"[Mr. Clarendon] Steady. Aristotle laughs at you. / [Mr. Algernon Sidney] Twist. He's an impertinent fellow! I say again—Liberty! freedom! glory! / Steady. Humbug! humbug! humbug!"
Example
"My profession? Poet and humbug."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "humbug"?
Common synonyms include: fraud, hoax, absurdity, acting, affectation, amphigory.
How do you use "humbug" in a sentence?
My profession? Poet and humbug.
How do you pronounce "humbug"?
Pronounced /ˈhʌmbʌɡ/.
Etymology
Origin unknown; the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) states that “the facts as to its origin appear to have been lost, even before the word became common enough to excite attention”. It has been suggested that the word possibly derives from hummer (“(slang) An obvious lie”), or from hum (“(dialectal and slang) to cajole; delude; impose on”) + bug (“a goblin, a spectre”). In his Slang Dictionary (1864), English bibliophile and publisher John Camden Hotten (1832–1873) suggested a link to the name of the German city of Hamburg, “from which town so many false bulletins and reports came during the war in the last century”, or alternatively a derivation from ambage. Hotten also said he had traced the earliest occurrence of the word to the title page of Ferdinando Killigrew’s book The Universal Jester (see quotations), which he dated to about 1735–1740. This dating has therefore been adopted by other dictionaries. However, the OED dates the word to about 1750, as the earliest edition of Killigrew’s work has been dated to 1754.