Assam

American

[as-sam] / æsˈsæm /

noun

a state in NE India. 30,285 sq. mi. (78,438 sq. km). Dispur.

Assam ¹ British

/ æˈsæm /

noun

a state of NE India, situated in the central Brahmaputra valley: tropical forest, with the heaviest rainfall in the world; produces large quantities of tea. Capital: Dispur. Pop: 26 638 407 (2001 est). Area: 78 438 sq km (30 673 sq miles)
a high-quality black tea grown in the state of Assam

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

assam ² British

/ ˈasam, ˈæsæm /

noun

(in Malaysia) tamarind as used in cooking. Assam ikan is a dish of fish cooked with tamarind

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of assam

from Malay asam sour

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Assam assam

On 30 July, the day Pranab Doley was set to be released from jail, his father and lawyer arrived at the prison in the northeastern Indian state of Assam to take the activist home.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Many of its tributaries originate in the surrounding hill states, while flood-control measures are largely planned within Assam.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Dhrubajyoti Sahariah, a professor of geography and director of the Centre for Brahmaputra Studies at Gauhati University, says flooding itself is natural in the Brahmaputra Valley, a lowland region in Assam.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

In Indian states that border Bangladesh, like West Bengal and Assam, undocumented migrants have formed an integral part of the informal workforce for years.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

The car in which Baba, their father, was taking Ammu, their mother, to hospital in Shillong to have them, broke down on the winding tea-estate road in Assam.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

In 2011, CNN named Penang assam laksa No. 7 in its list of the world’s 50 best foods.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2017

Take Penang assam laksa, a popular dish with Peranakan roots cooked at home and in hawker stalls, for instance.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2017

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023