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[jam] /dʒæm/

verb (used with object), jammed, jamming.
1.
to press, squeeze, or wedge tightly between bodies or surfaces, so that motion or extrication is made difficult or impossible:
The ship was jammed between two rocks.
2.
to bruise or crush by squeezing:
She jammed her hand in the door.
3.
to fill too tightly; cram:
He jammed the suitcase with clothing.
4.
to press, push, or thrust violently, as into a confined space or against some object:
She jammed her foot on the brake.
5.
to fill or block up by crowding; pack or obstruct:
Crowds jammed the doors.
6.
to put or place in position with a violent gesture (often followed by on):
He jammed his hat on and stalked out of the room.
7.
to make (something) unworkable by causing parts to become stuck, blocked, caught, displaced, etc.:
to jam a lock.
8.
Radio.

9.
to play (a piece) in a freely improvised, swinging way; jazz up:
to jam both standard tunes and the classics.
10.
Nautical. to head (a sailing ship) as nearly as possible into the wind without putting it in stays or putting it wholly aback.
verb (used without object), jammed, jamming.
11.
to become stuck, wedged, fixed, blocked, etc.:
This door jams easily.
12.
to press or push, often violently, as into a confined space or against one another:
They jammed into the elevator.
13.
(of a machine, part, etc.) to become unworkable, as through the wedging or displacement of a part.
14.
Jazz. to participate in a .
noun
15.
the act of jamming or the state of being jammed.
16.
a mass of objects, vehicles, etc., jammed together or otherwise unable to move except slowly:
a log jam; a traffic jam.
17.
Informal. a difficult or embarrassing situation; fix:
He got himself into a jam with his boss.
18.
.
/ˈdʒæmɪŋ/
noun
1.
(mountaineering) a rock-climbing technique in which holds are got by wedging the hands and feet in suitable cracks
/dʒæm/
verb jams, jamming, jammed
1.
(transitive) to cram or wedge into or against something: to jam paper into an incinerator
2.
(transitive) to crowd or pack: cars jammed the roads
3.
to make or become stuck or locked: the switch has jammed
4.
(transitive) often foll by on. to activate suddenly (esp in the phrase jam on the brakes)
5.
(transitive) to block; congest: to jam the drain with rubbish
6.
(transitive) to crush, bruise, or squeeze; smash
7.
(radio) to prevent the clear reception of (radio communications or radar signals) by transmitting other signals on the same frequency
8.
(intransitive) (slang) to play in a jam session
noun
9.
a crowd or congestion in a confined space: a traffic jam
10.
the act of jamming or the state of being jammed
11.
(informal) a difficult situation; predicament: to help a friend out of a jam
12.
See jam session
/dʒæm/
noun
1.
a preserve containing fruit, which has been boiled with sugar until the mixture sets
2.
(slang) something desirable: you want jam on it
3.
jam today, the principle of living for the moment
v.

“to press tightly,” also “to become wedged,” 1706, of unknown origin, perhaps a variant of champ (v.). Of a malfunction in the moving parts of machinery, by 1851. Sense of “cause interference in radio signals” is from 1914. Related: Jammed; jamming. The adverb is recorded from 1825, from the verb.
n.

“fruit preserve,” 1730s, probably a special use of jam (v.) with a sense of “crush fruit into a preserve.”

“a tight pressing between two surfaces,” 1806, from jam (v.). Jazz meaning “short, free improvised passage performed by the whole band” dates from 1929, and yielded jam session (1933); but this is perhaps from jam (n.1) in sense of “something sweet, something excellent.” Sense of “machine blockage” is from 1890, which probably led to the colloquial meaning “predicament, tight spot,” first recorded 1914.

jam (jām)
v. jammed, jam·ming, jams

modifier

: Jam bands do have styles

noun

verb

Related Terms

in a jam, jim-jam, logjam, toe jam

[all senses have some relation to the asi notion of squeezing or crushing so as to make jam]

noun

A heterosexual man

[1970s+ Homosexuals; said to be fr just a man]
see under get in a bind