Jump To:

• cam
  cam

  noun

  a disk or cylinder having an irregular form such that its motion, usually rotary, gives to a part or parts in contact with it a specific rocking or reciprocating motion.
• Cam
  Cam

  noun

  a river in E England flowing NE by Cambridge, into the Ouse River. 40 miles (64 km) long.
• CAM
  CAM

  noun

  computer-aided manufacturing.
• Cam.
  Cam.

  abbreviation

  Cambridge.
• -cam
  -cam

  combining form

  camera

cam

¹ American  

[kam] / kæm /

noun

1. Machinery. a disk or cylinder having an irregular form such that its motion, usually rotary, gives to a part or parts in contact with it a specific rocking or reciprocating motion.

2. Automotive Slang. camshaft.

---

verb (used with object)

cammed, camming

1. to provide (a machine part or mechanism) with a cam or cams.

cam ² American  

[kam] / kæm /

noun

1. a camera, especially one that records video (often used in combination, as in ).

   She's a professional photographer who uses state-of-the-art cams.

---

Cam ³ American  

[kam] / kæm /

noun

1. a river in E England flowing NE by Cambridge, into the Ouse River. 40 miles (64 km) long.

---

CAM ⁴ American  

[kam] / kæm /

noun

1. computer-aided manufacturing.

---

Cam. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Cambridge.

---

CAM ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. complementary and alternative medicine

2. computer-aided manufacture

3. botany crassulacean acid metabolism: a form of photosynthesis, first described in crassulaceous plants, in which carbon dioxide is taken up only at night

4. Cameroon (international car registration)

---

-cam ² British  

combining form

1. camera

   webcam

---

Cam ³ British  

/ kæm /

noun

1. a river in E England, in Cambridgeshire, flowing through Cambridge to the River Ouse. Length: about 64 km (40 miles)

---

cam ⁴ British  

/ kæm /

noun

1. a slider or roller attached to a rotating shaft to give a particular type of reciprocating motion to a part in contact with its profile

---

Etymology

Origin of cam¹

< Dutch or Low German kam, kamm. See comb

Origin of cam²

First recorded in 1975–80; shortening of camera ¹ ( def. )

Origin of CAM⁴

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cam Cam CAM Cam. camming

Several schoolteachers described bringing the nest cam into their classrooms as a learning tool.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

A bald eagle believed to be Jackie, star of a Big Bear nest cam, is in stable condition at a rehabilitation center after being rescued over the weekend, according to the nonprofit behind the livestream.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Detectives "continue to appeal for witnesses and anyone driving in the vicinity at the time who may have captured footage on dash cam to contact them", the spokesman added.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Reed is not against using AI to help with applications as it's a "wonderful tool" that cam improve your application.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Iron rod threaded through three rusted loops, old mortise lock with a rusty cam.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Jackie and her partner, Shadow, have been watched by millions of people over the years through the Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam, run by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley in California.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Cam Baker is managing editor and formerly a reporter for Bloomberg News.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Cam Newton, the former Carolina Panthers quarterback who made regular appearances on ESPN’s “First Take,” was also let go.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

So, he invested his own money to build a container terminal in Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Right now, Cam looked like he did when he was brainstorming a new pizza recipe.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The availability of CAM on the NHS is limited, and in most cases the NHS will not offer such treatments.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2024

Female evaluators judged those with skewed downward gazes more harshly than male evaluators, and the difference in the evaluation of the CAM and SKW stimuli for female interviewees was larger than the male interviewees.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2024

CAM is what makes the Western militaries so good, it was designed with the Soviet military approach in mind.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2023

CAM includes components like processed nickel, lithium and other materials that make up about 40% of the cost of a battery, the industry ministry said in a statement.

From Reuters ● May 29, 2023

The clumsy signature CAM was probably intended for Campi, the real author, and its genuineness is not above suspicion.

From Giorgione by Herbert Cook

Fitzpatrick echoed those sentiments, saying: "I love Cam. He's such a nice guy. He's so laid back. I knew we were going to have a good day, and it was."

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026

“Hope the best for Cam. Obviously, had some great times with him, some great memories with him as well, but excited for Kyren.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2023

“I fully trust Cam. Cam has the keys to the car,” Dickert said.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 4, 2022

"I wanted to set it up for Cam. All the pressure is on the other guy to get it to 1-1 and that was my job."

From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2021

“It would be totally awesome, Cam. I would go first and get used to the run of the whole place, and then you’d come next fall.”

From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth

Some of their protection is pre-place bolts, but some is “traditional” gear — like self camming devices and passive protection such as “nuts.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2015