From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhumblehum‧ble1 /ˈhʌmbəl/ ●○○ adjective 1 MODESTnot considering yourself or your ideas to be as important as other people’s OPP proud → humility a modest and humble man2 CLASS IN SOCIETYhaving a low social class or position He started his career as a humble peanut farmer.humble background/origins etc Iacocca rose from humble beginnings to become boss of Ford.3 → in my humble opinion4 → my humble apologies5 [only before noun]SIMPLE/NOT COMPLICATED simple and ordinary, but useful or effective The humble potato may be the key to feeding the world’s population.6 → eat humble pie7 → your humble servant8 → somebody’s humble abode —humbly adverb
Examples from the Corpus
humble• Taylor's students describe him as a humble and modest man.• The school had originally provided a good education for children of humble backgrounds.• From such humble beginnings in a remote Lincolnshire village he was, however, destined to make his impression on the world.• You may not realise, as you watch the humble caddie walk the fairways, how heavy that bag is.• Families cherished their forbears, whether these had lived in humble cottages or in manor houses.• Stephanie was humble enough to admit that others could probably do the job better than she could.• In later years the humble feast grew into a mysterious worship, about which we know little.• a humble house on a back street• He appears a rather humble man; but he expends considerable effort telling his full story.• Their father was a genuinely humble man, who had worked hard for his family all his life.• Eisenhower, Nixon, and Ford were all men of humble origins and no inherited wealth.• Scientists say the humble potato may be the key to feeding the world's fast-growing population.• He came down with a First and started his civil service career in the humble surroundings of the National Assistance Board.humble background/origins etc• Cooke could never forget his humble origins.• In the case of plumes, the evidence for how they look comes from humble origins.• She wanted university endowments to be used to fund poor preachers and scholars from humble backgrounds.• Sid was always fond of reminding his audience of darts' humble origins.• Social status, so quickly achieved, made the family unwilling in later years to acknowledge their very humble origins.• The list is bottomless, no doubt, but what about his humble origins?• Republican Presidents of the late twentieth century-Eisenhower, Nixon, Fordhad all been men of humble background and no inherited wealth.• A man of humble origins with little formal education, Mr Bérégovoy had always taken pride in his reputation for integrity.humblehumble2 verb 1 → be humbled2 [transitive]BEAT/DEFEAT to easily defeat someone who is much stronger than you are The mighty U.S. army was humbled by a small Southeast Asian country.3 → humble yourself —humbling adjective a humbling experience→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
humble• Swansea were humbled 41-10 by Leicester, while Cardiff lost 21-15 to Gloucester.• All those dreary councillors and their officious bureaucrats deserve to be humbled.• This is because balding has helped women humble and silence our male critics.• And making SROs profitable for private builders is a task that would humble Hercules.• Yet the school offered him nothing and lie had to humble himself to plead with me.• Yet I was awed, and even humbled in a way, to confront such an enemy.humbling experience• It will be a humbling experience all round.Origin humble1 (1200-1300) Old French Latin humilis “low, humble”, from humus “earth” 