noun

jam

JAM

noun

A sweet spread made by boiling fruit with sugar until it thickens.

"She spread strawberry jam thickly over her toast."

A difficult or awkward situation.

"Losing his wallet at the airport put him in a real jam."

A blockage or pileup, such as heavy traffic.

"We sat in a traffic jam for over an hour."

An informal, spontaneous session of playing music together.

"The band held a late-night jam in the garage."

verb

To wedge something tightly so it can no longer move.

"A pebble jammed the lock and the key wouldn't turn."

To play music informally and improvise with others.

"They jammed together for hours after the show ended."

How to Use Jam

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishCan mean the fruit spread you eat, a tight spot you're stuck in, a traffic pileup, or musicians playing together informally.

Common mistake

Don't confuse with "jelly," which is a similar fruit spread but made without the fruit pulp.

Common pairings

strawberry jam traffic jam jam session jam the signal

Word Forms

jammed past tense, jams plural, jams plural, JAMs plural, jams singular

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She spread strawberry _____ thickly over her toast.

Etymology

First recorded in the early 1700s as a verb meaning "to press or wedge in," likely echoing the sound and action of squeezing something into a tight spot; the "improvised music" sense grew out of jazz slang from the 1920s.

Synonyms

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