jam
/ˈd͡ʒæm/ noun, verb
Forms jams jamming jammed jama
- noun (less common in the US) A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts “He is allergic to jam.”
- noun (countable) A difficult situation.
- noun (countable, baseball) A difficult situation for a pitcher or defending team. “The pitcher's in a jam now, having walked the bases loaded with the cleanup hitter coming to bat.”
- noun (countable) A blockage, congestion, or immobilization. “a jam on the 101 South, blocking the two right lanes [radio report]”
- noun (countable, popular music) An informal, impromptu performance or rehearsal.
- noun (countable, by extension, informal) A song; a track. “pump up the jam”
- noun (countable, by extension) An informal event where people brainstorm and collaborate on projects. “We came up with some new ideas at the game jam.”
- noun (countable, slang) That which one particularly prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about. “Teaching is my jam.”
- verb To get something stuck, often (though not necessarily) in a confined space. “My foot got jammed in a gap between the rocks.”
- verb 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.”
- verb To render something unable to move.
- verb To cause congestion or blockage. Often used with "up". “A single accident can jam the roads for hours.”
- verb 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.”
- verb To turn (fruit) into jam.
- verb To add jam to; to cover with jam.
- verb (baseball) To throw a pitch at or near the batter's hands. “Jones was jammed by the pitch.”
- noun (dated) A kind of frock for children.
- noun (UK, informal) A household that is only barely able to meet its financial obligations.
Synonyms
conserve jelly preserve ass in a sling bind bucket of syrup calvary cauldron cross cross to bear difficulty dilemma dire straits doghouse fix hole kettle kettle of fish ordeal pickle mess muddle crush press jamming electronic jamming throng mob pack pile
Etymology
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.
Borrowed from Persian جامه (“garment”) and/or Hindustani (Hindi जामा (jāmā) / Urdu جامہ (jāma)), meaning "garment, robe". Related to pajamas and pyjamas.
Initialism, from just about managing.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A kind of frock for children.
- noun See Jamb.
- verb To press into a close or tight position; to crowd; to squeeze; to wedge in. The . . . jammed in between two rocks. De Foe.
- verb To crush or bruise; as, to jam a finger in the crack of a door.
Etymology [Per. or Hind. jamah garment, robe.]
Etymology [Either fr. jamb, as if squeezed between jambs, or more likely from the same source as champ See Champ.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “jam”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details