humble

hum|ble¹ [ˈhʌmbəl] adj

[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: Latin humilis 'low, humble', from humus 'earth']

1.) not considering yourself or your ideas to be as important as other people's

≠ ↑proud

→↑humility

▪ a modest and humble man

2.) having 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 opinion

spoken used humorously to give your opinion about something

4.) my humble apologies

BrE spoken used humorously to say you are sorry

5.) [only before noun]

simple and ordinary, but useful or effective

▪ The humble potato may be the key to feeding the world's population.

6.) eat humble pie

to admit that you were wrong about something

7.) your humble servant

BrE old use a formal way of ending a letter

8.) sb's humble abode

someone's house or apartment - used humorously

▪ Welcome to our humble abode.

>humbly adv

humble ²

humble² v

1.) be humbled

if you are humbled, you realize that you are not as important, good, kind etc as you thought you were

▪ You can't help but be humbled when you enter this cathedral.

2.) [T]

to easily defeat someone who is much stronger than you are

▪ The mighty U.S. army was humbled by a small South East Asian country.

3.) humble yourself

to show that you are not too proud to ask for something, admit you are wrong etc

▪ I knew he had humbled himself to ask for my help.

>humbling adj

▪ a humbling experience