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chum

1
[ chuhm ]
/ tʃʌm /
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See synonyms for: chum / chummed / chumming on Thesaurus.com
noun
a close or intimate companion: boyhood chums.
Older Use. a roommate, as at college.
verb (used without object), chummed, chum·ming.
to associate closely.
Older Use. to share a room or rooms with another, especially in a dormitory at a college or prep school.
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Origin of chum

1
First recorded in 1675–85; of uncertain origin

Words nearby chum

Chula Vista, chuleta, chulo, chulpa, Chulym, chum, chuman, Chumash, chummy, chump, chump change

Other definitions for chum (2 of 3)

chum2
[ chuhm ]
/ tʃʌm /
noun
cut or ground bait dumped into the water to attract fish to the area where one is fishing.
fish refuse or scraps discarded by a cannery.
verb (used without object), chummed, chum·ming.
to fish by attracting fish by dumping cut or ground bait into the water.
verb (used with object), chummed, chum·ming.
to dump chum into (a body of water) so as to attract fish.
to lure (fish) with chum: They chummed the fish with hamburger.

Origin of chum

2
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; of uncertain origin

Other definitions for chum (3 of 3)

chum3
[ chuhm ]
/ tʃʌm /
noun
chum salmon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to chum

buddy, comrade, crony, playmate, associate, companion, mate, pal, sis, bro

How to use chum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chum (1 of 3)

chum1
/ (tʃʌm) /
noun
informal a close friend
verb chums, chumming or chummed
(intr usually foll by up with) to be or become an intimate friend (of)
(tr) Scot to accompanyI'll chum you home

Word Origin for chum

C17 (meaning: a person sharing rooms with another): probably shortened from chamber fellow, originally student slang (Oxford); compare crony

British Dictionary definitions for chum (2 of 3)

chum2
/ (tʃʌm) /
noun
angling, mainly US and Canadian chopped fish, meal, etc, used as groundbait

Word Origin for chum

C19: origin uncertain

British Dictionary definitions for chum (3 of 3)

chum3
/ (tʃʊm) /
noun
a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus keta

Word Origin for chum

from Chinook Jargon tsum spots, marks, from Chinook
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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