duck vs hum

duck

verb
  • To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly. 

  • To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw. 

  • To quickly lower (the head or body), often in order to prevent it from being struck by something. 

  • To enter a place for a short moment. 

  • To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid. 

  • To evade doing something. 

  • To quickly lower the head or body, often in order to prevent it from being struck by something. 

  • To bow. 

noun
  • A long-necked medical urinal for men. 

  • A building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related. 

  • One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve. 

  • Trousers made of such material. 

  • A tightly-woven cotton fabric used as sailcloth. 

  • A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games. 

  • The flesh of a duck used as food. 

  • An aquatic bird of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet. 

  • A term of endearment; pet; darling. 

  • A cave passage containing water with low, or no, airspace. 

  • A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (short for duck's egg, since the digit "0" is round like an egg.) 

  • Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling. 

  • A cairn used to mark a trail. 

  • A playing card with the rank of two. 

  • Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger). 

hum

verb
  • To produce low sounds which blend continuously 

  • To express by humming. 

  • To reek, smell bad. 

  • To make a sound from the vocal chords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed. 

  • To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly 

  • To buzz, be busily active like a beehive 

noun
  • Unpleasant odour. 

  • A phenomenon, or collection of phenomena, involving widespread reports of a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming, rumbling, or droning noise not audible to all people. 

  • Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive. 

  • A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed. 

  • An often indistinct sound resembling human humming. 

intj
  • Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c. 

  • Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c. 

How often have the words duck and hum occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )