Hum and haw means to hesitate, sound uncertain, or delay making a decision. It usually suggests that someone is not answering directly, is taking too long to choose, or is showing doubt out loud.
The expression comes from the kind of sounds people make when they are thinking and not ready to speak clearly. In English, people often fill a pause with sounds like um, er, hmm, or similar noises. Hum and haw developed from that idea, so the phrase now means verbal hesitation, not just the sounds themselves.
You will often see it when someone is avoiding a clear answer or struggling to decide:
- He hummed and hawed before answering the job offer.
- She kept humming and hawing when we asked whether she agreed.
It is usually slightly critical. If you say someone is humming and hawing, you often mean they should be more direct or decide faster. In some varieties of English, people also say hem and haw. The meaning is the same.
