Meaning

17 senses
  1. (countable, uncommon, uncountable)A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts

    He is allergic to jam.

    She loves eating jam for breakfast in hotels.

    Marmelade, Konfitüre

    джемdžem, варе́ньеvarénʹje, конфитю́рkonfitjúr

    джемdžem, варе́нняvarénnja, мармела́дmarmelád

  2. (countable)A difficult situation.

    Patsche, Klemme

    переплётperepljót

    informal terms for a difficult situation

  3. A difficult situation.

    (countable)A difficult situation for a pitcher or defending team.

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

  4. (countable)A blockage, congestion, or immobilization.

    a jam on the 101 South, blocking the two right lanes [radio report]

    a jam of logs in a river

    Stau

    загроможде́ниеzagromoždénije, зато́рzatór, про́бкаpróbka

    зато́рzatór

  5. (common, countable)An informal, impromptu performance or rehearsal.

    джем-се́йшенdžem-sɛ́jšen, импровиза́цияimprovizácija

  6. (broadly, countable, informal)A song; a track.

    pump up the jam

  7. (broadly, countable)An informal event where people brainstorm and collaborate on projects.

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

  8. (countable, slang)That which one particularly prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about.

    Teaching is my jam.

  9. (countable)A forceful dunk.

  10. (countable)A play during which points can be scored.

    Toughie scored four points in that jam.

  11. (countable)Any of several manoeuvres requiring wedging of an extremity into a tight space.

    I used a whole series of fist and foot jams in that crack.

  12. (Australia, countable, uncountable)The tree Acacia acuminata, with fruity-smelling hard timber.

Examples

480 sentences
  1. How much jam did you buy?

    Скільки варення ти купив? — deniko

    ruСколько варенья ты купил? — marafon

  2. I was caught in a traffic jam.

    Я застряг у пробці. — uaspeaker

    ruЯ застрял в пробке. — al_ex_an_der

    deIch steckte im Stau. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

  3. I was delayed by a traffic jam.

    Я затримався в пробці. — deniko

    ruЯ задержался в пробке. — odexed

    deIch wurde durch einen Stau aufgehalten. — Yorwba

  4. Tom helped me out of a jam.

    Том мене виручив. — deniko

  5. There is a traffic jam on the highway.

    На шосе затор. — deniko

    ruНа шоссе затор. — marafon

    deEs ist Stau auf der Autobahn. — Yorwba

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 2
sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar:
blockage, congestion:
Русский
By meaning 4
sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar:
difficult situation:
blockage, congestion:
impromptu informal performance:
Deutsch
By meaning 3
sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar:
difficult situation:
blockage, congestion:

Origin

First attested in the early 18th c. as a verb meaning “to press, be pressed, be wedged in”

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.

Borrowed from Persian جامه (“garment”) and/or Hindustani (Hindi जामा (jāmā) / Urdu جامہ (jāma)), meaning "garment, robe". Related to pajamas and pyjamas.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: jams
Singularjam
Pluraljams

regular

Synonyms

64 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

46 related words

Collocations

7 patterns
  • a traffic jam
  • traffic jam
  • traffic jam on
  • strawberry jam
  • the traffic jam
  • jam on the
  • in a jam

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
jam — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto