Jump To:

• gum
  gum

  noun

  any of various viscid, amorphous exudations from plants, hardening on exposure to air and soluble in or forming a viscid mass with water.
• GUM
  GUM

  abbreviation

  genitourinary medicine

gum

¹ American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

noun

1. any of various viscid, amorphous exudations from plants, hardening on exposure to air and soluble in or forming a viscid mass with water.

2. any of various similar exudations, as resin.

3. a preparation of such a substance, as for use in the arts or bookbinding.

4. chewing gum.

5. mucilage; glue.

6. rubber.

7. gum tree.

8. Philately. the adhesive by which a postage stamp is affixed.

9. Informal. a rubber overshoe or boot.

---

verb (used with object)

gummed, gumming

1. to smear, stiffen, or stick together with gum.

2. to clog with or as if with some gummy substance.

verb (used without object)

gummed, gumming

1. to exude or form gum.

2. to become gummy.

3. to become clogged with a gummy substance.

verb phrase

1. gum up to spoil or ruin.

idioms

1. gum up the works. work.

gum ² American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

noun

1. Also called gingiva.  Often gums the firm, fleshy tissue covering the alveolar parts of either jaw and enveloping the necks of the teeth.

---

verb (used with object)

gummed, gumming

1. to masticate (food) with the gums instead of teeth.

2. to shape or renew the teeth of (a saw), as by grinding.

idioms

1. beat one's gums, to talk excessively or ineffectively.

gum ³ American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

idioms

1. by gum, (used as a mild oath).

---

gum ¹ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. any of various sticky substances that exude from certain plants, hardening on exposure to air and dissolving or forming viscous masses in water

2. any of various products, such as adhesives, that are made from such exudates

3. any sticky substance used as an adhesive; mucilage; glue

4. short for kauri gum

5. See chewing gum bubble gum gumtree

6. a gumdrop

---

verb

1. to cover or become covered, clogged, or stiffened with or as if with gum

2. (tr) to stick together or in place with gum

3. (intr) to emit or form gum

GUM ² British  

abbreviation

1. genitourinary medicine

---

gum ³ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. Technical name: gingiva.  the fleshy tissue that covers the jawbones around the bases of the teeth

---

gum ⁴ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. used in the mild oath by gum!

---

gum ¹ Scientific  

/ gŭm /

1. Any of various sticky substances that are produced by certain plants and trees and dry into brittle solids soluble in water. Gums typically are colloidal mixtures of polysaccharides and mineral salts.

---

gum ² Scientific  

/ gŭm /

1. See gingiva

---

Other Word Forms

• gumless
  adjective
• gumlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gum¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gom(m)e, gum(m)e, from Old French gomme, from Vulgar Latin gumma, for Latin gummi, cummi, commi, from Greek kómmi, from Coptic kommi, from Egyptian kema, kemai, kmjt

Origin of gum²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English gom(m)e, Old English gōma “palate, jaws (in plural),” Old Norse gōmr “roof or floor of the mouth,” German Gaumen “palate”

Origin of gum³

First recorded in 1825–35; euphemism for God

Explanation

Gum is a sticky substance that oozes out of a tree or another plant, and chewing gum is the stuff you blow bubbles with or stick under your desk. Yuck. Natural gum has many uses, including as a thickener in food products. Chewing gum, however, has only one real use: it's made to be chewed but not swallowed. This kind of gum often has a fruity or minty flavor, and can sometimes be blown into bubbles. When you gum something up, you clog or block it — or you make it sticky. Completely different gums are the soft flesh inside your mouth where your teeth are rooted.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gum GUM gummed gumming

"Getting rid of chewing gum, getting rid of grotty looking bins, getting rid of graffiti, the things that are unsightly that none of us want to see," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

The researchers then engineered the bean gum to contain protegrin, an antimicrobial peptide capable of killing harmful bacteria.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

It has the same ingredients — from beef to xanthan gum — but of course the inputs, such as property rates and labor costs, vary widely from country to country.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

A turkey sandwich and a pack of mint gum appeared to be the more prudent option.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

I knew it would take a while for the gum to harden, but it appeared to have sealed up the hole.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Detsky Mir has one big advantage for recently-exfiltrated Soviet spies over better known department stores like GUM: It’s a toy store.

From Slate ● May 31, 2018

But when that site was outgrown and revitalization projects were being launched along MLK, GUM was pushed and even paid - the city gave $252,000 - to relocate.

From Washington Times ● May 2, 2018

Oblivious to recent tensions, crowds of tourists, many Russian-speaking, wandered around the Kremlin walls and St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square and the nearby mall inside the famous GUM department store.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2018

It reminds me of Moscow’s GUM department store in the days of the Soviet Union.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 23, 2017

GUM CISTUS.—The gum labdanum is procured from this shrub, and is its only produce used in medicine.

From The Botanist's Companion, Volume II by William Salisbury

But product development at larger companies is slow and rigid, often getting gummed up in corporate bureaucracy, Brasher said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Supply chains are also gummed up for helium, crucial for the artificial-intelligence chips boom, and fertilizers, essential for global food security.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

That gummed up credit markets, tanked the value of money-market funds, and sent global stock markets into a tailspin.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

The housing market gummed up, people unable to move and all this at time when there is huge demand for more homes.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2024

The baby gummed her slobbery mouth on her new bracelet.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

In practice, it is gumming up urgent upgrades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

"It's almost palpably eager to please – and if you don't welcome it right into your heart, you might want to check there's not some marmalade gumming it shut."

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025

And despite the claims that she’s gumming up the state’s process with her appeals, Gilbert has never actually reversed a council decision.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2025

Because of its eagerness to enter into chemical reactions, "sulfur compounds tend to be more unstable, posing hazards to lab personnel and equipment, clogging up instrumentation and gumming up experiments."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024

Even Granny stopped gumming her tobacco and looked interested.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

• paste
• wax