Jam

/ˈd͡ʒæm/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts
  • Grammar: jam is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: pickle, ram, a mass of, a world of.
  • Useful contrasts: more operating, beaming, beams.
  • Usage evidence: There was an enormous traffic jam in downtown Kyoto.

How to use "jam"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "jam" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "jam" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "jam" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "jam" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "jam" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "pickle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "jam", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts countable, uncommon, uncountable

    "He is allergic to jam."

  2. 2
    A kind of frock for children. dated
  3. 3
    Alternative form of jamb. alt-of, alternative
  4. 4
    A household that is only barely able to meet its financial obligations. UK, informal

    "Well, technically, a Jam is a working-class Brexit voter who feels alienated by the creeping march of globalisation."

  5. 5
    deliberate radiation or reflection of electromagnetic energy for the purpose of disrupting enemy use of electronic devices or systems wordnet
Show 18 more definitions
  1. 6
    A difficult situation. countable

    "It's a blackmail ring, and the district attorneys get a share of the loot. […] Well, they got him in the same kind of jam, and soaked him to the tune of three hundred and eighty-six thousand."

  2. 7
    preserve of crushed fruit wordnet
  3. 8
    A difficult situation.; A difficult situation for a pitcher or defending team. countable

    "The pitcher's in a jam now, having walked the bases loaded with the cleanup hitter coming to bat."

  4. 9
    a dense crowd of people wordnet
  5. 10
    A blockage, congestion, or immobilization. countable

    "a jam on the 101 South, blocking the two right lanes [radio report]"

  6. 11
    informal terms for a difficult situation wordnet
  7. 12
    An informal, impromptu performance or rehearsal. common, countable
  8. 13
    A song; a track. broadly, countable, informal

    "And a mix CD titled "Summer Jamz 2000." Jamz is spelled with a "z"."

  9. 14
    An informal event where people brainstorm and collaborate on projects. broadly, countable

    "We came up with some new ideas at the game jam."

  10. 15
    That which one particularly prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about. countable, slang

    "Teaching is my jam."

  11. 16
    A forceful dunk. countable
  12. 17
    A play during which points can be scored. countable

    "Toughie scored four points in that jam."

  13. 18
    Any of several manoeuvres requiring wedging of an extremity into a tight space. countable

    "I used a whole series of fist and foot jams in that crack."

  14. 19
    The tree Acacia acuminata, with fruity-smelling hard timber. Australia, countable, uncountable
  15. 20
    Luck. UK, countable, slang, uncountable

    "He's got more jam than Waitrose."

  16. 21
    Balls, bollocks, courage, machismo. Canada, countable, slang, uncountable

    "I don't think he has the jam."

  17. 22
    Sexual relations or the contemplation of them. countable, slang, uncountable
  18. 23
    Something enjoyable; a delightful situation or outcome. countable, slang, uncountable

    "’Tis fine to be a pretty girl, or just a gay and witty girl, And obviously to be both is rightly counted jam, But even more desirable, and clearly less acquirable, Is that mysterious quality denominated glam."

Verb
  1. 1
    To get something stuck, often (though not necessarily) in a confined space.

    "My foot got jammed in a gap between the rocks."

  2. 2
    interfere with or prevent the reception of signals wordnet
  3. 3
    To brusquely force something into a space; to cram, to squeeze.

    "They temporarily stopped the gas tank leak by jamming a piece of taffy into the hole."

  4. 4
    block passage through wordnet
  5. 5
    To render something unable to move.

    "Considering the results of the CFD wind simulation, the NTSB designed several series of static and dynamic elevator load tests to determine what conditions, consistent with the known circumstances of the accident, could enable the inboard actuating crank and links of the right elevator's geared tab to move beyond their normal range of travel and become locked in an overcenter position (and, as a result, jam the right elevator)."

Show 15 more definitions
  1. 6
    crush or bruise wordnet
  2. 7
    To cause congestion or blockage. Often used with "up".

    "A single accident can jam the roads for hours."

  3. 8
    crowd or pack to capacity wordnet
  4. 9
    To block or confuse a radio or radar signal by transmitting a more-powerful signal on the same frequency.

    "The government jams foreign propaganda broadcasts."

  5. 10
    get stuck and immobilized wordnet
  6. 11
    To throw a pitch at or near the batter's hands.

    "Jones was jammed by the pitch."

  7. 12
    push down forcibly wordnet
  8. 13
    To dunk.
  9. 14
    press tightly together or cram wordnet
  10. 15
    To play music (especially improvisation as a group, or an informal unrehearsed session).
  11. 16
    To injure a finger or toe by sudden compression of the digit's tip.

    "When he tripped on the step he jammed his toe."

  12. 17
    To attempt to score points.

    "Toughie jammed four times in the second period."

  13. 18
    To bring (a vessel) so close to the wind that half her upper sails are laid aback. transitive

    "It won't do to jam her,” answered Stone ;" but it might be worth findin' out if th' Hope won't lie closer than t' other can." Half a point ----""

  14. 19
    To give up on a date or some other joint endeavour; to stand up, chicken out, jam out. Canada, informal
  15. 20
    To be of high quality (especially for music). colloquial

    "I love this song! This song jams!"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Abbreviation of Jamaica. abbreviation, alt-of

Synonyms

All synonyms
picklerama mass ofa world ofaboundabound with

Antonyms

more operatingbeamingbeamsclear

Example

"There was an enormous traffic jam in downtown Kyoto."

Common questions

What does "jam" mean?

A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts

What is a synonym for "jam"?

Common synonyms include: pickle, ram, a mass of, a world of, abound, abound with.

How do you use "jam" in a sentence?

There was an enormous traffic jam in downtown Kyoto.

How do you pronounce "jam"?

Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒæm/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

First attested in the early 18th c. as a verb meaning “to press, be pressed, be wedged in”. Compare dialectal jammock (“to press, squeeze, crush into a soft mass, chew food"; also "a soft, pulpy substance”). Perhaps from Middle English chammen, champen ("to bite upon something, gnash the teeth"; whence modern champ, chomp), of uncertain origin; probably originally onomatopoeic. The "performance" sense is first attested with regards to jazz in 1929, and its origin, though uncertain, is likely metaphorical, "something sweet made by the combination of many things", with influence from jamboree.

Etymology 2

From Persian or Hindi, meaning "garment, robe;" see جامه (“garment”). Related to pajamas.

Etymology 3

Initialism, from just about managing.

More for "jam"

Synonyms

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