We say and hear it all the time — with friends, at work, while watching the news. And though it may be frowned upon in some contexts, this two-letter, omnipresent filler word is a small but mighty building block of conversation.

So for the latest Word of the Week, let's, um, have a talk about, um … "um."

Why do we use it so much?

"Um" has a myriad of utilities.

It fills the space when we're trying to think of what word or idea to say next, it can soften our tone to make us sound more casual or polite, or it can signal to people that we're not finished speaking, which is known as "turn holding," said Jess Zafarris, an etymologist and co-host of the Words Unravelled podcast.

"That buys you time and helps prevent other people from talking over you," she said.

The shortness of "um" and

See Full Page