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jam

Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒæm/

The English word “jam” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts
  2. A difficult situation.
  3. A difficult situation for a pitcher or defending team.
  4. A blockage, congestion, or immobilization.
  5. An informal, impromptu performance or rehearsal.
  6. A song; a track.
  7. An informal event where people brainstorm and collaborate on projects.
  8. That which one particularly prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about.
  9. A forceful dunk.
  10. A play during which points can be scored.
  11. Any of several manoeuvres requiring wedging of an extremity into a tight space.
  12. The tree Acacia acuminata, with fruity-smelling hard timber.
  13. Luck.
  14. Balls, bollocks, courage, machismo.
  15. Sexual relations or the contemplation of them.
  16. Something enjoyable; a delightful situation or outcome.

verb

  1. To get something stuck, often (though not necessarily) in a confined space.
  2. To brusquely force something into a space; to cram, to squeeze.
  3. To render something unable to move.
  4. To cause congestion or blockage. Often used with "up".

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"…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.