ham

1
[ ham ]
See synonyms for ham on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a cut of meat from the heavy-muscled part of a hog's rear quarter, between hip and hock, usually cured.

  2. that part of a hog's hind leg.

  1. the part of the leg back of the knee.

  2. Often hams. the back of the thigh, or the thigh and the buttock together.

Origin of ham

1
before 1000; Middle English hamme,Old English hamm bend of the knee; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German hamme,Old High German hamma; akin to Old Norse hǫm buttock; perhaps akin to Greek knḗmē shin, Old Irish cnáim bone

Words Nearby ham

Other definitions for ham (2 of 4)

ham2
[ ham ]

noun
  1. an actor or performer who overacts.

  2. an operator of an amateur radio station.

verb (used with or without object),hammed, ham·ming.
  1. to act with exaggerated expression of emotion; overact.

Origin of ham

2
First recorded in 1880–85; short for hamfatter, after The Hamfat Man, a Black minstrel song celebrating an awkward man

Other definitions for Ham (3 of 4)

Ham
[ ham ]

noun
  1. the second son of Noah. Genesis 10:1.

Other definitions for HAM (4 of 4)

HAM

or ham

[ ham ]

adverbSlang.
  1. hard as a motherfucker: in an extremely high-energy manner; to an exceptional degree (a euphemistic acronym used as a description of intensity, without explicit vulgarity): Nothing can stop me from partying HAM this spring break!

Origin of HAM

4
From its use in digital communications

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ham in a sentence

  • ham and eggs, dry toast and shrimps,” said the keen-eyed traveller in reply to the reiterated question.

  • He reached over, with astonishing suddenness in one so bulky, and twirled the secretary about with his ham of a hand.

    Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
  • A pair of carvers, laid with my cover, tell me that I shall have to carve the ham which is here eaten with the chicken.

    Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
  • My host has before him a fine joint of beef, there are two chicken in front of my hostess, and I am placed opposite a boiled ham.

    Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
  • Every “biscuit” or “ham” has been cut in two to find out whether the native has loaded it in any way.

British Dictionary definitions for ham (1 of 2)

ham1

/ (hæm) /


noun
  1. the part of the hindquarters of a pig or similar animal between the hock and the hip

  2. the meat of this part, esp when salted or smoked

  1. informal

    • the back of the leg above the knee

    • the space or area behind the knee

  2. needlework a cushion used for moulding curves

Origin of ham

1
Old English hamm; related to Old High German hamma haunch, Old Irish cnāim bone, camm bent, Latin camur bent

British Dictionary definitions for ham (2 of 2)

ham2

/ (hæm) /


noun
  1. theatre informal

    • an actor who overacts or relies on stock gestures or mannerisms

    • overacting or clumsy acting

    • (as modifier): a ham actor

  2. informal

    • a licensed amateur radio operator

    • (as modifier): a ham licence

verbhams, hamming or hammed
  1. informal to overact

Origin of ham

2
C19: special use of ham 1; in some senses probably influenced by amateur

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

Cultural definitions for Ham

Ham

One of the three sons of Noah. According to the biblical account, Noah and his family were the only human survivors of the great Flood and were therefore the progenitors of all the peoples on Earth.

Notes for Ham

Egypt (see also Egypt) was traditionally called “the Land of Ham,” and Ham was considered to be the ancestor of the Egyptians and of all African peoples south of Egypt.

Notes for Ham

The “curse of Ham” refers to the biblical story in which Ham, seeing his father drunk and naked, refused to turn away as his two brothers did. When Noah awoke, he cursed Ham and his son Canaan, supposedly causing a darker pigmentation in their descendants. This so-called curse has often been wrongly used to justify racism.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.