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jam - 17 dictionary results

jam

1  [jam] verb, jammed, jam⋅ming, noun
Use jam in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
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 fol. 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.
a. to interfere with (radio signals or the like) by sending out other signals of approximately the same frequency.
b. (of radio signals or the like) to interfere with (other signals).
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)
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 jam session.
–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. jam session.
Origin:
1700–10; appar. imit.; cf. champ 1 , dam 1

jam

2  [jam]
–noun
1. a preserve of whole fruit, slightly crushed, boiled with sugar: strawberry jam.
—Idiom
2. put on jam, Australian Slang. to adopt a self-important manner or use affected speech.
Origin:
1720–30; perh. special use of jam 1

Related forms:
jamlike, jammy, adjective

Jam.

 
Jamaica.

jam session

 
–noun
1. a meeting of a group of musicians, esp. jazz musicians, to play for their own enjoyment.
2. an impromptu jazz performance or special performance by jazz musicians who do not regularly play together.
Also called jam.

Origin:
1930–35; perh. jam 1 , or by shortening of jamboree
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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jam 1   (jām)   
v.   jammed, jam·ming, jams

v.   tr.
  1. To drive or wedge forcibly into a tight position: jammed the cork in the bottle.
  2. To activate or apply (a brake) suddenly. Often used with on: jammed the brakes on.
  3. To cause (moving parts, for example) to lock into an unworkable position: jammed the typewriter keys.
    1. To pack (items, for example) to excess; cram: jammed my clothes into the suitcase.
    2. To fill (a container or space) to overflowing: I jammed the suitcase with clothes. Fans jammed the hallway after the concert.
  5. To block, congest, or clog: a drain that was jammed by debris.
  6. To crush or bruise: jam a finger.
  7. Electronics To interfere with or prevent the clear reception of (broadcast signals) by electronic means.
  8. Baseball To throw an inside pitch to (a batter), especially to prevent the batter from hitting the ball with the thicker part of the bat.
v.   intr.
  1. To become wedged or stuck.
  2. To become inoperable: The computer keyboard jammed.
  3. To force one's way into or through a limited space.
  4. Music To participate in a jam session.
  5. Basketball To make a dunk shot.
n.  
  1. The act of jamming or the condition of being jammed.
  2. A crush or congestion of people or things in a limited space: a traffic jam.
  3. A trying situation. See Synonyms at predicament.

[Origin unknown.]
jam'ma·ble adj., jam'mer n.
jam 2   (jām)   
n.  A preserve made from whole fruit boiled to a pulp with sugar.

[Possibly from jam1.]
jam'my adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Jam

Jam\, n. [Per. or Hind. j[=a]mah garment, robe.] A kind of frock for children.

Jam

Jam\, n. (Mining) See Jamb.

Jam

Jam\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Jammed; p. pr. & vb. n. Jamming.] [Either fr. jamb, as if squeezed between jambs, or more likely from the same source as champ See Champ.]

1. To press into a close or tight position; to crowd; to squeeze; to wedge in.

The . . . jammed in between two rocks. --De Foe.

2. To crush or bruise; as, to jam a finger in the crack of a door. [Colloq.]

3. (Naut.) To bring (a vessel) so close to the wind that half her upper sails are laid aback. --W. C. Russell.

Jam

Jam\, n. 1. A mass of people or objects crowded together; also, the pressure from a crowd; a crush; as, a jam in a street; a jam of logs in a river.

2. An injury caused by jamming. [Colloq.]

Jam

Jam\, n. [Prob. fr. jam, v.; but cf. also Ar. jamad ice, jelly, j[=a]mid congealed, jamd congelation, ice.] A preserve of fruit boiled with sugar and water; as, raspberry jam; currant jam; grape jam.

Jam nut. See Check nut, under Check.

Jam weld (Forging), a butt weld. See under Butt.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : jam
Spanish: mermelada, confitura,
German: die Marmelade,Marmeladen-,
Japanese: ジャム
More Translations »

jam  (v.)
"to press tightly," also "to become wedged," 1706, of unknown origin, perhaps a variant of champ (v.). Sense of "to cause interference in radio signals" is from 1914. Jazz noun meaning "short, free improvised passage performed by the whole band" dates from 1929, and yielded jam session (1933); perhaps from jam (n.) in sense of "something sweet, something excellent." Noun sense of "machine blockage" is from 1890, which probably led to the colloquial meaning "predicament," first recorded 1914.

jam  (n.)
"fruit preserve," 1730s, probably a special use of jam (v.) with a sense of "crush fruit into a preserve."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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jam (jām)
v. jammed, jam·ming, jams

  1. To block, congest, or clog.
  2. To crush or bruise.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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JaM
John and Martin. An interpreted FORTH-like graphics language by John Warnock and Martin Newell, Xerox PARC, 1978. JaM was the forerunner of both Interpress and PostScript. It is mentioned in PostScript Language reference Manual, Adobe Systems, A-W 1985.

jam
A condition on a network where two nodes transmitting simultaneously detect the collision and continue to transmit for a certain time (4 to 6 bytes on Ethernet) to ensure that the collision has been detected by all nodes involved.
(1994-12-12)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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jam

see under get in a bind.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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