on the lam
noun
1.
a hasty escape; flight.
verb (used without object)
Idioms 2.
to run away quickly; escape; flee: I'm going to lam out of here as soon as I've finished.
3.
on the lam, escaping, fleeing, or hiding, especially from the police: He's been on the lam ever since he escaped from jail.
4.
take it on the lam, to flee or escape in great haste: The swindler took it on the lam and was never seen again.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To on the lam
Collins
World English Dictionary
lam1 (læm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , lams, lamming, lammed | |
| 1. | (tr) to thrash or beat |
| 2. | (intr; |
| [C16: from Scandinavian; related to Old Norse lemja] | |
00:10
On the lam
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| lam2 (læm) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a sudden flight or escape, esp to avoid arrest |
| 2. | on the lam |
| a. making an escape | |
| b. in hiding | |
| —vb , lams, lamming, lammed | |
| 3. | (intr) to escape or flee |
| [C19: perhaps from | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
lam
"flight," as in on the lam, 1897, from a U.S. slang verb meaning "to run off" (1886), of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from the first element of lambaste, which was used in British student slang for "beat" since 1596; if so, it would give the word the same etymological sense as beat it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
on the lam definition[...læm]
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| LAM lymphagioleiomyomatosis |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
on the lam
Running away, especially from the police, as in He's always in some kind of trouble and perpetually on the lam. The origin of this slangy term of the 1800s is not known.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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