chum
/t͡ʃʌm/noun, verb
chum is spelled C-H-U-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chum means “A friend; a pal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chum is chums.
How many letters and syllables are in chum?
| Letters | 4: C-H-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is chum?
Chum appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce chum?
- /t͡ʃʌm/
As a noun (“A temporary dwelling used by the nomadic Uralic reindeer…”): /t͡ʃuːm/.
Chum has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-chum.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with chum?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as chum.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: much.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of chum
- chums plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- choom
- chumming participle, present
- chummed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedA friend; a pal.
- 2
datedA roommate, especially in a college or university.
- 3
CanadaUSA mixture of (frequently rancid) fish parts and blood, dumped into the water as groundbait to attract predator fish, such as sharks.
Near-synonym: shark bait
- 4
A coarse mould for holding the clay while being worked on a whirler, lathe or manually.
- 5
Synonym of chum salmon.
- 6
A temporary dwelling used by the nomadic Uralic reindeer herders of northwestern Siberia.
verb
- 1
To share rooms with someone; to live together.
- 2
To lodge (somebody) with another person or people.
- 3
To make friends; to socialize.
- 4
ScotlandinformalTo accompany.
I'll chum you down to the shops.
- 5
To cast chum into the water to attract fish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Kumpel, Freund , Mitbewohner |
| Spanish | amigote, amiguete, compinche, compañero, camarada, amigo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does chum come from?
1675–85; of uncertain origin, possibly from cham, shortening of chambermate, or from comrade. Less likely from Welsh cymrawd (“fellow”), compare brawd (“brother”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).