hubbub
hub·bub/ˈhʌbʌb/noun, verb
hubbub is spelled H-U-B-B-U-B: 6 letters and 2 syllables (hub·bub). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hubbub means “A confused sound of a crowd of people shouting or speaking simultaneously; an uproar” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hubbub is hubbubs.
How many letters and syllables are in hubbub?
| Letters | 6: H-U-B-B-U-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: hub·bub |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hubbub?
Hubbub appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th 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 hubbub?
- US /ˈhʌbʌb/
Hubbub has 2 syllables, split hub·bub in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hubbub.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-hubbub.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hubbub
- hubbubs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hub-bub
- whobub
- hubbubbing participle, present
- hubbubing participle, present
- hubbubbed participle, past
- hubbubed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hubbub mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A confused sound of a crowd of people shouting or speaking simultaneously; an uproar.
- 2
Noisy confusion; commotion, uproar; (countable) an instance of this; an ado, a commotion.
- 3
obsoleteA sound of people making a battle cry or war cry.
- 4
USSynonym of bowl game (“a Native American game of chance involving the throwing of colored nuts from a bowl, comparable to dice”).
verb
- 1
rareTo make a confused sound of a crowd of people shouting or speaking simultaneously; to cause a racket or tumult.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hubbub in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brouhaha, tohu-bohu , boucan |
| German | Durcheinander, Stimmengewirr, Tohuwabohu, Trubel, Tumult, Wirrwarr |
| Portuguese | comoção |
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 hubbub come from?
In early use, the noun is often mentioned as a cry by Irish people, and so is possibly borrowed from Irish; compare Irish ababú, abú (“used as a battle cry”), and Scottish Gaelic ub, ub, ubub (“used to express contempt, etc.”), ubh ubh (“used to express disgust”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).