to fill (something) by force with more than it can easily hold.
to force or stuff (usually followed by into, down, etc.).
to fill with or as with an excessive amount of food; overfeed.
Informal.
to prepare (a person), as for an exam, by having them memorize information within a short period of time.
to acquire knowledge of (a subject) by so preparing oneself.
Archaic. to tell lies to.
to eat greedily or to excess.
to study for an examination by memorizing facts at the last minute.
to press or force accommodation in a room, vehicle, etc., beyond normal or comfortable capacity; crowd; jam.
The whole team crammed into the bus.
Informal. the act of preparing for an exam by memorizing information within a short time period.
an excessively full state.
a dense crowd; throng.
(tr) to force (people, material, etc) into (a room, container, etc) with more than it can hold; stuff
to eat or cause to eat more than necessary
informal to study or cause to study (facts, etc), esp for an examination, by hastily memorizing
the act or condition of cramming
a crush
First recorded before 1000; Middle English crammen, Old English crammian “to stuff,” akin to crimman “to put in”
To cram is to crowd or stuff people or things into a limited amount of space. You might be tempted to cram your mouth full of your mom's chocolate chip cookies, especially if they just came out of the oven and are still warm and gooey. You can cram yourself with food, or cram your books onto a shelf that's not quite big enough to hold them. A writer might cram one book with dozens of characters, or you could cram homemade pancakes with blueberries. Another way to cram is to study for a test all in one session: "I haven't studied at all yet — I'll have to stay up tonight and cram." The Old English root, crammian, means "stuff something into something else."
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But, as BBC Sport curling commentator Steve Cram asked former world champion Jackie Lockhart, is it actually cheating and does it make a difference?
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
Communications director Christopher Cram has previously told The Washington Times the district cannot comment about pending litigation.
From Washington Times • Aug. 23, 2023
Cram heads the department’s new Behavioral Health Unit, which was started late last year.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 7, 2023
"Sifan Hassan has done something that nobody could ever have expected," Steve Cram said.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2023
Here, you step in here," said Mr. Cram to the attorney and his companion, "and I'll bring Tom to you in a minute.
From The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 2, May, 1851 by Various
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.
