ham

¹ American  

[ham] / hæm /

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.

3. the part of the leg back of the knee.

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

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ham ² American  

[ham] / hæm /

noun

1. an actor or performer who overacts.

2. an operator of an amateur radio station.

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verb (used with or without object)

hammed, hamming

1. to act with exaggerated expression of emotion; overact.

idioms

1. ham it up,  to overact; ham.

Ham ³ American  

[ham] / hæm /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the second son of Noah.

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HAM ⁴ American  

[ham] / hæm /

Or ham

adverb

Slang.

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!

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idioms

1. go HAM,  to exhibit optimal energy or enthusiasm; to make a great effort.

   The team went HAM on the final play and mowed down the defense.

ham ¹ British  

/ 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

3. informal

   1. the back of the leg above the knee

   2. the space or area behind the knee

4. needlework a cushion used for moulding curves

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ham ² British  

/ hæm /

noun

1. informal  theatre

   1. an actor who overacts or relies on stock gestures or mannerisms

   2. overacting or clumsy acting

   3. ( as modifier )

      a ham actor

2. informal

   1. a licensed amateur radio operator

   2. ( as modifier )

      a ham licence

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verb

1. informal  to overact

Ham Cultural  

1. 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.

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Usage

What else does ham mean? To go ham is to put in an extraordinary, even aggressive, amount of effort. If you went crazy eating ham, you'd be going ham on some ham. In this sense, ham may stand for hard as a motherf****r.

Discover More

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.

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.

Etymology

Origin of ham¹

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

Origin of ham¹

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

Origin of HAM¹

From its use in digital communications

Example Sentences

I order the Classic Italian with prosciutto, ham, salami and provolone.

From Los Angeles Times

In Topanga, Najah has a ham radio license so she can stay informed when power and cell service inevitably go down.

From Los Angeles Times

Then he gloriously hams his way through every inch of proverbial celluloid in a way that makes you love him even more than you love hating him.

From Salon

Volunteers drove by handing out ham sandwiches and snacks.

From New York Times

A lot of places could make a good ham and cheese.

From New York Times

Related Words

• hot dog