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

The online bio causing the hubbub belongs to Lee Ann Conard, director of the hospital's Transgender Health Clinic. —Amber Hunt, The Enquirer, 21 Nov. 2024

Inflation For all the hubbub about various issues, statements, rallies and rhetoric during this election, the economy is unique as providing the most obvious gravitational pull toward Trump. —G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2024

Still, even in the Olympics’ overwhelming and thrilling sporting hubbub, this was the day tennis captured the imagination. —James Hansen, The Athletic, 30 July 2024

With the usual hubbub surrounding the NFL Draft and the days after it, Smoot’s signing in early May went somewhat under the radar. —Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 25 July 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