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• ham
  ham

  noun

  a cut of meat from the heavy-muscled part of a hog's rear quarter, between hip and hock, usually cured.
• Ham
  Ham

  noun

  (in the Bible) the second son of Noah.
• HAM
  HAM

  adverb

  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).

SEE ALSO:

Slang dictionary results for ham.

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.

---

ham ² American  

[ham] / hæm /

noun

1. an actor or performer who overacts.

2. an operator of an amateur radio station.

---

verb (used with or without object)

• hams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hammed,
  past participle,  past
• hamming
  present participle

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

---

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.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• hamming
  present
• hammed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ham
  simple
• hams
  simple
• have hammed
  perfect
• has hammed
  perfect
• am hamming
  progressive
• are hamming
  progressive
• is hamming
  progressive
• have been hamming
  perfect progressive
• has been hamming
  perfect progressive

Past

• hammed
  simple
• had hammed
  perfect
• was hamming
  progressive
• were hamming
  progressive
• had been hamming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ham
  simple
• will have hammed
  perfect
• will be hamming
  progressive
• will have been hamming
  perfect progressive

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 ham²

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

Origin of HAM⁴

From its use in digital communications

Explanation

Ham is a type of pork, or meat that comes from a pig. If you order a ham sandwich at a deli, you'll get a pile of thinly-sliced meat between two slices of bread. Most ham is preserved in some way, either smoked or salted, and traditionally this meat comes from a hog's hind legs. For many people who celebrate Easter, ham is a typical main dish. Ham, defined in the 1630s as "meat from the hind leg of a pig," comes from the Old English hamm, "hollow or bend of the knee." If you're a performer described as a ham, it means your acting is way too theatrical or exaggerated.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ham Ham HAM hams hammed hamming

"We have ham, pickled garlic, tahini, and stinky tofu and liquor. Just below my office is a shop whose speciality is vodka, foie gras and apple in one scoop," says Yan.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Within weeks Masino pulled a U-turn, dumping the new logo, dropping the marketing firm behind it and pausing restaurant remodels, bringing back proven sellers like campfire meals and ham dinners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Grab a pineapple bun stuffed with ham and butter, a corned beef egg tart, a sourdough one, even pistachio.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

"It would be like smoked ham," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Dad takes his seat at his spot at the head of the table, for the moment oblivious to Mom’s irritated overtures, and begins making incisions in his ham.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Having spent a combined £185m on midfielders Mateus Fernandes from West Ham and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, Tottenham head coach Roberto de Zerbi next looked to strengthen his side's attack.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The loan signing, with an obligation to buy, of Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea allows Villa to spread the cost while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is due to move from West Ham on a similar deal.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Belgium midfielder Arne Engels is having a medical pending a transfer to West Ham United, Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has confirmed.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Also in the southern section West Ham, who beat Portsmouth in Saturday's first round, travel to fellow Championship side Southampton.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Ham Knapp took the seat next to him.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

"This gives us confidence that the HAM Index can truly predict who is a healthy ager versus a rapid ager."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024

“If you say anything bad about Long Beach in front of me I’ll go HAM, even if it’s true. I haven’t felt that energy in other parts of L.A.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2022

The network is divided into regions, where leaders sometimes hold training sessions on HAM radios, firearms or emergency first aid.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2021

If they wanna go HAM on the gifts, might as well try to make something useful come out if it!

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2019

He wore bright blue orthopedic sandals, a faded Bob Marley T-shirt, and a white baseball hat that said, HAM, BACON, SAUSAGE.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

ChatGPT said she’d need to make two turkeys, two hams and six pies to feed all those guests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025

Of course there were blankets, water bottles, clothing, masks and hygiene products, but also grab-and-go salads, squeezable snacks for kids, candy, crates of fresh vegetables, protein and grain bars, even honey-baked hams and queen-sized mattresses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025

There is a pleasing calm to her delivery that stands out in a scene of fidgety hams.

From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2024

Some processed hams may contain additives, preservatives and flavor-enhancers we should limit.

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2024

He was a tall man, muscular, with hands that hung like hams at his sides.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

They played to the paparazzi, vamping at high-profile events including the Kentucky Derby and the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner, and hammed it up in “caught off-guard” moments at the supermarket or over lunch.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Now their AI capability, however obscure, is hammed up.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024

During a six-week election campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon traveled the country and hammed it up for the cameras.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

We don’t know if Nguyễn Phú Trọng, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was briefed on the age discussion in advance, but he really hammed it up for the press.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2023

In the ring Woody’s smile looked sly and crafty; he hammed it up.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Equally, you might not have believed her for a second, and thought she was hamming up her pain because it's all gone wrong.

From BBC ● May 31, 2026

He performed badly in sports and in school, but was a decent singer and could get a chuckle hamming it up in the school play.

From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2025

Was it necessary to have the head coach of the Warriors and a former Bulls shooting guard hamming it up on the party’s biggest night?

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2024

During the six-week campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon have been hamming it up for the cameras, from scooping out ice cream to making pizzas.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

I nodded weakly, hamming it up just a bit.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

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