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• gum
  gum

  noun

  any of various viscid, amorphous exudations from plants, hardening on exposure to air and soluble in or forming a viscid mass with water.
• GUM
  GUM

  abbreviation

  genitourinary medicine

gum

¹ American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

noun

1. any of various viscid, amorphous exudations from plants, hardening on exposure to air and soluble in or forming a viscid mass with water.

2. any of various similar exudations, as resin.

3. a preparation of such a substance, as for use in the arts or bookbinding.

4. chewing gum.

5. mucilage; glue.

6. rubber.

7. gum tree.

8. Philately. the adhesive by which a postage stamp is affixed.

9. Informal. a rubber overshoe or boot.

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verb (used with object)

gummed, gumming

1. to smear, stiffen, or stick together with gum.

2. to clog with or as if with some gummy substance.

verb (used without object)

gummed, gumming

1. to exude or form gum.

2. to become gummy.

3. to become clogged with a gummy substance.

verb phrase

1. gum up to spoil or ruin.

idioms

1. gum up the works. work.

gum ² American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

noun

1. Also called gingiva.  Often gums the firm, fleshy tissue covering the alveolar parts of either jaw and enveloping the necks of the teeth.

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verb (used with object)

gummed, gumming

1. to masticate (food) with the gums instead of teeth.

2. to shape or renew the teeth of (a saw), as by grinding.

idioms

1. beat one's gums, to talk excessively or ineffectively.

gum ³ American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

idioms

1. by gum, (used as a mild oath).

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gum ¹ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. any of various sticky substances that exude from certain plants, hardening on exposure to air and dissolving or forming viscous masses in water

2. any of various products, such as adhesives, that are made from such exudates

3. any sticky substance used as an adhesive; mucilage; glue

4. short for kauri gum

5. See chewing gum bubble gum gumtree

6. a gumdrop

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verb

1. to cover or become covered, clogged, or stiffened with or as if with gum

2. (tr) to stick together or in place with gum

3. (intr) to emit or form gum

GUM ² British  

abbreviation

1. genitourinary medicine

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gum ³ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. Technical name: gingiva.  the fleshy tissue that covers the jawbones around the bases of the teeth

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gum ⁴ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. used in the mild oath by gum!

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gum ¹ Scientific  

/ gŭm /

1. Any of various sticky substances that are produced by certain plants and trees and dry into brittle solids soluble in water. Gums typically are colloidal mixtures of polysaccharides and mineral salts.

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gum ² Scientific  

/ gŭm /

1. See gingiva

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Other Word Forms

• gumless
  adjective
• gumlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gum¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gom(m)e, gum(m)e, from Old French gomme, from Vulgar Latin gumma, for Latin gummi, cummi, commi, from Greek kómmi, from Coptic kommi, from Egyptian kema, kemai, kmjt

Origin of gum²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English gom(m)e, Old English gōma “palate, jaws (in plural),” Old Norse gōmr “roof or floor of the mouth,” German Gaumen “palate”

Origin of gum³

First recorded in 1825–35; euphemism for God

Explanation

Gum is a sticky substance that oozes out of a tree or another plant, and chewing gum is the stuff you blow bubbles with or stick under your desk. Yuck. Natural gum has many uses, including as a thickener in food products. Chewing gum, however, has only one real use: it's made to be chewed but not swallowed. This kind of gum often has a fruity or minty flavor, and can sometimes be blown into bubbles. When you gum something up, you clog or block it — or you make it sticky. Completely different gums are the soft flesh inside your mouth where your teeth are rooted.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gum GUM gummed gumming

Tests showed that extracts from the bean gum lowered HPV levels by 93% in saliva samples.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

Researchers have developed a bioengineered chewing gum that may offer a new way to target microbes associated with head and neck cancer.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

It has the same ingredients — from beef to xanthan gum — but of course the inputs, such as property rates and labor costs, vary widely from country to country.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

A turkey sandwich and a pack of mint gum appeared to be the more prudent option.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

Shaking her head, Jinjoo opened another pack of chewing gum.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

GUM, the luxury mall next to Red Square, is full of shoppers — though many Western stores like Prada, Gucci and Christian Dior are closed — and restaurants and theaters do thriving business.

From New York Times ● Sep. 6, 2022

Detsky Mir has one big advantage for recently-exfiltrated Soviet spies over better known department stores like GUM: It’s a toy store.

From Slate ● May 31, 2018

But when that site was outgrown and revitalization projects were being launched along MLK, GUM was pushed and even paid - the city gave $252,000 - to relocate.

From Washington Times ● May 2, 2018

Oblivious to recent tensions, crowds of tourists, many Russian-speaking, wandered around the Kremlin walls and St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square and the nearby mall inside the famous GUM department store.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2018

While nobody talks anything but sugar at Martinique, nor cod in Newfoundland, at St. Louis the only subject of conversation is GUM.

From Memoirs (Vieux Souvenirs) of the Prince de Joinville by Loyd, Lady Mary Sophia (Hely-Hutchinson)

That gummed up credit markets, tanked the value of money-market funds, and sent global stock markets into a tailspin.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

It also could take a long time for Saudi Arabia to actually take possession of the jets and the process could get gummed up in Congress or derailed by other developments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

In a memo to employees, Fiddelke said he was trying to clear up “complexity” that gummed up decision-making and made it harder to deliver on ideas, according to the Journal.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2025

For as long as the process is gummed up in parliament, ministers can point to it being gummed up in parliament.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2024

Instead my feet had gummed to the sidewalk as he handed her into the Ford and they drove away.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Should the Dolphins ultimately move on from Tagovailoa after the season, they’d be confronted with the twin demands of needing to find a replacement—and attempting to do so while Tagovailoa is gumming up the books.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

And despite the claims that she’s gumming up the state’s process with her appeals, Gilbert has never actually reversed a council decision.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2025

Because of its eagerness to enter into chemical reactions, "sulfur compounds tend to be more unstable, posing hazards to lab personnel and equipment, clogging up instrumentation and gumming up experiments."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024

Or what if they did manage to hammer out some compromises, only for a handful of unhappy people or groups to take them to court, gumming up the works?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

A never-ending stream of glowing sludge forced itself into the engines, whirling around the propellers, gumming them up, slowing them down, bringing them closer to the breaking point.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• paste
• wax