Fumes are gases or vapors, often unpleasant or dangerous to breathe. When a car's exhaust pipe releases smoke and gas, those are fumes. Paint thinner gives off strong fumes that can make you dizzy, which is why painters work in well-ventilated spaces. Chemistry teachers warn students about chemical fumes that might be produced during experiments.

The word fume as a verb means to be extremely angry, especially when you're too upset to express it calmly. When you fume about something, you're so frustrated that you're practically steaming like a boiling kettle. A student might fume silently after being blamed for something they didn't do, or a parent might fume at the dinner table after a frustrating day at work.

You can picture the connection between the two meanings: someone who's fuming with anger seems to give off heat and steam like a smokestack. When people say someone is fuming, they mean that person is absolutely furious, holding in their anger, and everyone around them can sense it.