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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.

---

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!

---

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. 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 ² 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 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 the summer season passes and we just go ham.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

It was a strange little society of meats that belonged neither behind the butcher counter nor among the premium lunch meats — the thin-sliced turkey in its tidy package, the glossy hunk of honey ham.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

Last year Dillon Green, one of the organisers at Marymass, told BBC Scotland News the ham had originally been the prize so it could "feed the poor of the town".

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 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

After Papa’s big decision, she kept leftover sausage or ham or fried steak-a-lean in her warming oven in case we came by after school.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Two days later it happened again, when Scotland striker Kirsty Hanson was the only British player to start for Tottenham in their win over West Ham.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

After Tonali, £85m went on bringing in Mateus Fernandes from West Ham.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

After playing for youth academies such as Arsenal, West Ham United and Chelsea, Gabriel signed with Manchester United at age 11.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

He is best known for his performance on the final day of the 1994-95 season, when West Ham drew 1-1 with Manchester United when United required a win to finish top of the Premier League.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

These read: Conays 1111 1111, Ham 1 1 1, etc.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

"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

Choirul Anam on Indonesia's human rights body, Komnas HAM, said on Monday that if tear gas hadn't been fired "maybe there wouldn't have been chaos."

From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2022

“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

Especially in 2020, the point is not to go HAM because last year was the greatest.

From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2020

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

She lifted her hand to stroke his thin one, but thought better of it She squatted cm her hams.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024

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

“He landed funny on his knee and hammed his hip, and we were really worried about it,” Carroll said.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2023

Then, back to business: “I’m going to lead you through a little eighth-grade vocal warm-up,” Micciche hammed up the last phrase.

From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2021

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

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Drummer Joel Amey punctures the pomposity during The Sofa - hamming up his accent as he sings about feeling "stuck in Seven Sisters, Norf Lahn-dan".

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Was he hamming it up for the cameras?

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2024

More than that, he seems to relish it, hamming it up as the babies reach out to touch him.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2023

And in a brilliant bit of acting by Patrick Stewart, you can see that he’s hamming it up for the cadets.

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

Suddenly my friends are on the screen, waving, angling for face time, hamming it up.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

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