gam
1 Americannoun
noun
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a herd or school of whales.
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Eastern New England, Nautical. a social meeting, visit, or the like, as between whaling vessels at sea.
verb (used without object)
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(of whales) to assemble into a herd or school.
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Nautical. (of the officers and crews of two whaling vessels) to visit or converse with one another for social purposes.
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Eastern New England. to participate in a gam or social visit.
noun
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a school of whales
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nautical an informal visit between crew members of whalers
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a flock of large sea birds
verb
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(intr) (of whales) to form a school
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nautical (of members of the crews of whalers) to visit (each other) informally
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(tr) to visit or exchange visits with
noun
Etymology
Origin of gam1
1775–85; probably < Polari < Italian gamba leg; jamb 1
Origin of gam2
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; perhaps dialectal variant of game 1
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.
France center back Raphael Varane said there will be no danger of complacency among his teammates in a gam against the world’s No. 22-ranked team.
From Washington Times • Dec. 13, 2022
In Hebrew they say gam zeh ya'avor—this too shall pass.
From Golf Digest • Nov. 8, 2016
Asked to describe the current shape of the Middle East, a visiting Israeli official uses a Hebrew expression, gam vegam , which translates roughly to: “It’s going in both directions at once.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 1, 2016
She was a soignée matron, game for some electric color or the flash of a gam, but nothing inappropriate to her age or status.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 1, 2015
Bud dean't mak gam o' me: Oh, dean't mak gam o' me!
From Yorkshire Dialect Poems (1673-1915) and traditional poems by Moorman, Frederic William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.