gum up


verb(tr, adverb)
  1. to cover, dab, or stiffen with gum

  2. informal to make a mess of; bungle (often in the phrase gum up the works)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use gum up in a sentence

  • Always wipe the stone dry after using, as the oil will dry and gum up the grinding surface if not kept clean.

    Toy Craft | Leon H. Baxter
  • After the etching has dried remove the same with water, and gum up again.

    Practical Lithography | Alfred Seymour

Other Idioms and Phrases with gum up

gum up

Ruin or bungle something, as in The front office has gummed up the sales campaign thoroughly. This idiom is also put as gum up the works, as in John's changes in procedures have gummed up the works in the shipping department. [Slang; c. 1900]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.