Adam

American  

[ad-uhm, a-dahn] / ˈæd əm, aˈdɑ̃ /

noun

1. the name of the first man, according to the Bible: husband of Eve and progenitor of the human race.

2. Adolphe Charles 1803–56, French composer of comic opera and ballet music.

3. James, 1730–94, and his brother Robert, 1728–92, English architects and furniture designers.

4. Lambert Sigisbert 1700–59, and his brother Nicholas Sébastien 1705–78, French sculptors.

5. a first name.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the style of architecture, decoration, or furnishings associated with Robert and James Adam, characterized by free adaptation of ancient Roman forms and interiors treated with delicate ornament generally painted in light, vivid colors.

idioms

1. not know from Adam, to be unacquainted with.

   He says hello to us every morning, but we don't know him from Adam.

2. the old Adam, the natural tendency toward sin.

   He attributed his wild outburst to the old Adam in him.

Adam ¹ British  

/ ˈædəm /

noun

1. Old Testament the first man, created by God: the progenitor of the human race (Genesis 2–3)

2. to have no knowledge of or acquaintance with someone

3. the evil supposedly inherent in human nature

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Adam ² British  

noun

1. Adolphe. 1803–56, French composer, best known for his romantic ballet Giselle (1841)

2. Robert. 1728–92, Scottish architect and furniture designer. Assisted by his brother, James, 1730–94, he emulated the harmony of classical and Italian Renaissance architecture

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adjective

1. in the neoclassical style made popular by Robert Adam

Adam More Idioms  

1. see not know from Adam.

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Etymology

Origin of Adam

From the Hebrew word ādhām literally, “man”

Example Sentences

Modern hackers increasingly use these networks to steal the login credentials their victims use for cloud-computing services, said Adam Meyers, a senior vice president with the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

Prosecutors from the state attorney general’s office announced the charges against Adam Walker, former secretary of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, at a news conference.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

Trivariate Research’s Adam Parker wanted to find stocks that are in safer sectors, so he screened for companies with AI revenue that are in the utility and real-estate sectors.

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

Enter Rice and his partners—including Adam Vojdany and Dom Puglisi, friends from the startup and tech world—who were looking for an established company to acquire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026

Still, Joe knew it wasn’t going to be easy to continue their search as long as Adam was hanging around.

From "Mystery Map (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #3)" by Franklin W. Dixon