What does "spam" mean?
Unsolicited bulk electronic messages.
Spam
/ˈspæm/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Unsolicited bulk electronic messages.
- Grammar: spam is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: bombard, bulk email, canned meat, flood.
- Useful contrasts: concise posting, fresh meat, ham.
- Usage evidence: Another spam article hoping for click-throughs?
How to use "spam"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spam" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "spam" 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 "spam" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spam" 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 "spam" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "bombard" 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 "spam", 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 Unsolicited bulk electronic messages. Internet, countable, rare, uncountable
"I get far too much spam."
- 2 unwanted e-mail (usually of a commercial nature sent out in bulk) wordnet
- 3 Any undesired electronic content automatically generated for commercial purposes. Internet, uncountable
"An Act to provide for the control of spam, which is unsolicited commercial communications sent in bulk by electronic mail or by text or multi-media messaging to mobile telephone numbers, and to provide for matters connected therewith."
- 4 a canned meat made largely from pork wordnet
- 5 Excessive, often unwanted and repeated online messages. Internet, countable, uncountable
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Ellipsis of spam account. Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
- 7 A large quantity or multitude of anything done repetitively or considered unusually or indiscriminately repetitive. broadly, countable, often, uncountable
- 8 A type of tinned meat made mainly from ham. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages.) Internet, intransitive
"Transformed by programming ineptitude into a monster of Frankenstein proportions, it broke loose on the night of March 31, 1993 and proceeded to spam news.admin.policy with something on the order of 200 messages in which it attempted, and failed, to cancel its own messages."
- 2 send unwanted or junk e-mail wordnet
- 3 To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages) to a person or entity. Internet, transitive
- 4 To send messages repeatedly, often with disruptive effect; to flood. Internet, intransitive, transitive
- 5 To do something rapidly and repeatedly. broadly, transitive
"Stop spamming that special attack!"
Proper Noun
- 1 Alternative form of spam (“tinned meat product”). alt-of, alternative
"During World War II, of course, I ate my share of SPAM along with millions of other soldiers."
- 2 Alternative form of spam (tinned meat product) alt-of, alternative
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Another spam article hoping for click-throughs?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spam"?
Common synonyms include: bombard, bulk email, canned meat, flood, inundate, junk e-mail.
How do you use "spam" in a sentence?
Another spam article hoping for click-throughs?
How do you pronounce "spam"?
Pronounced /ˈspæm/.
Etymology
The original sense (canned ham) is a proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 1937. It is presumed to be a conflation of either "spiced ham" or "shoulder of pork and ham" but was soon extended to other kinds of canned meat. Hormel spells the trademarked name in all upper case. The use for unsolicited and unwanted email derives from a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch. In the 1970 sketch, a group of Vikings in a restaurant repeatedly chant the word "spam". The earliest recorded real-life use for this sense occurs around 1993 which finds reference in a newsgroup post dated March 31, 1993, but the term may have been in use on "Multi-User Dungeons" (MUDs) in the 1980s.