hubbub

noun

hub·​bub ˈhə-ˌbəb 

1

: noise, uproar

2

: confusion, turmoil

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of hubbub in a Sentence

All the hubbub in the airport made it hard to hear the flight announcements.

the hubbub surrounding the film star

We went to the country to escape the hubbub of the city.

What's all the hubbub about?

Recent Examples on the Web

Jann leads me through the hubbub, homing in on a crumpled, hairless version of myself in a wheelchair. —Minrose Gwin, New York Times, 18 May 2024

And yet there is an eco-minded flip side to the touristy hubbub, one exemplified by places like Mango Bay. —Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 12 May 2024

How the conversation around lead in Stanleys started The latest hubbub was sparked by Tamara Rubin, founder of Lead Safe Mama, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about lead poisoning and reporting on lead-safe choices for consumers. —Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 1 Feb. 2024

Amid the hubbub of urban life, silence is a luxury of the rich. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

perhaps of Irish origin; akin to Scottish Gaelic ub ub, interjection of contempt

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hubbub

noun

hub·​bub ˈhəb-ˌəb 

: uproar, turmoil