noun

flam

Flam (noun) means a lie or a deceptive trick meant to mislead someone. Example: “His excuse turned out to be nothing but a flam to get out of trouble.”

noun

A lie or a deceptive trick meant to mislead someone.

"His excuse turned out to be nothing but a flam to get out of trouble."

In drumming, a quick pair of strokes — a soft grace note right before a louder main beat — played so close together they sound almost like one note.

"The drummer opened the fill with a sharp flam on the snare."

verb

To deceive someone with a made-up story.

"He tried to flam his boss with a story about a family emergency."

How to use flam

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither an old word for a lie/trick, or (in drumming) a two-stroke ornament that sounds like one thick beat.

Common pairings

a flam on the snare nothing but flam

Word forms

flammed past tense, flammed past tense, flams plural, flams plural, flams singular, flams singular

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His excuse turned out to be nothing but a _____ to get out of trouble.

Etymology

Comes from the older word "flim-flam," meaning a deceptive trick or nonsense talk.

Rhymes for flam

lam slam clam glam blam

See all rhymes for flam →

Frequently asked questions

What does “flam” mean?

The word “flam” means a lie or a deceptive trick meant to mislead someone. In plain terms, either an old word for a lie/trick, or (in drumming) a two-stroke ornament that sounds like one thick beat.

How do you pronounce “flam”?

“Flam” is pronounced flam (/flæm/ in IPA).

How do you use “flam” in a sentence?

Here is “flam” used in a sentence: “His excuse turned out to be nothing but a flam to get out of trouble.”

What part of speech is “flam”?

Depending on how it is used, “flam” can be a noun and a verb.

How many meanings does “flam” have?

“Flam” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a lie or a deceptive trick meant to mislead someone.