Dictionary.com

chum

1
[ chuhm ]
/ tʃʌm /
See synonyms for: chum / chummed / chumming on Thesaurus.com

noun

a close or intimate companion: boyhood chums.
a roommate, as at college.

verb (used without object), chummed, chum·ming.

to associate closely.
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

Definition 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

Definition for chum (3 of 3)

chum3
[ chuhm ]
/ tʃʌm /

noun

chum salmon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to chum

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

Example sentences from the Web for chum

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