jam

1. 1

   A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tartscountableuncommonuncountable

   • He is allergic to jam.
   • She loves eating jam for breakfast in hotels.
2. 2

   A difficult situation.countable

   • It's a blackmail ring, and the district attorneys get a share of the loot. […] Well, they got him in the same kind of jam, and soaked him to the tune of three hundred and eighty-six thousand.
   • She was married when we first met / Soon to be divorced / I helped her out of a jam, I guess / But I used a little too much force
3. 3

   A difficult situation.; A difficult situation for a pitcher or defending team.countable

   • The pitcher's in a jam now, having walked the bases loaded with the cleanup hitter coming to bat.
4. 4

   A blockage, congestion, or immobilization.countable

   • a jam on the 101 South, blocking the two right lanes [radio report]
   • a jam of logs in a river
5. 5

   An informal, impromptu performance or rehearsal.commoncountable

6. 6

   A song; a track.broadlycountableinformal

   • pump up the jam
7. 7

   An informal event where people brainstorm and collaborate on projects.broadlycountable

   • We came up with some new ideas at the game jam.
8. 8

   That which one particularly prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about.countableslang

   • Teaching is my jam.
9. 9

   A forceful dunk.countable

10. 10

    A play during which points can be scored.countable

    • Toughie scored four points in that jam.

1. 1

   To get something stuck, often (though not necessarily) in a confined space.

   • My foot got jammed in a gap between the rocks.
   • Her poor little baby toe got jammed in the door.
2. 2

   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.
   • The rush-hour train was jammed with commuters.
3. 3

   To render something unable to move.

   • Considering the results of the CFD wind simulation, the NTSB designed several series of static and dynamic elevator load tests to determine what conditions, consistent with the known circumstances of the accident, could enable the inboard a
4. 4

   To cause congestion or blockage. Often used with "up".

   • A single accident can jam the roads for hours.
5. 5

   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.
   • The airstrike suffered minimal casualties because electronic-warfare aircraft were jamming the enemy air-defense radars.
6. 6

   To turn (fruit) into jam.

7. 7

   To add jam to; to cover with jam.

   • ‘Just look at me. All jammed and dripping in a public street.’
8. 8

   To throw a pitch at or near the batter's hands.

   • Jones was jammed by the pitch.
9. 9

   To dunk.

10. 10

    To play music (especially improvisation as a group, or an informal unrehearsed session).

syn. ram

1. 1

   A kind of frock for children.dated

1. 1

   Alternative form of jamb.alt-ofalternative