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Synonyms

gam

1 American  
[gam] / gæm /

noun

Slang.

  1. a person's leg, especially an attractive female leg.

gam 2 American  
[gam] / gæm /

noun

  1. a herd or school of whales.

  2. Eastern New England, Nautical. a social meeting, visit, or the like, as between whaling vessels at sea.

verb (used without object)

gammed, gamming

  1. (of whales) to assemble into a herd or school.

  2. Nautical. (of the officers and crews of two whaling vessels) to visit or converse with one another for social purposes.

  3. Eastern New England. to participate in a gam or social visit.

gam 1 British  
/ ɡæm /

noun

  1. a school of whales

  2. nautical an informal visit between crew members of whalers

  3. a flock of large sea birds

"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

verb

  1. (intr) (of whales) to form a school

  2. nautical (of members of the crews of whalers) to visit (each other) informally

  3. (tr) to visit or exchange visits with

"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
gam 2 British  
/ ɡæm /

noun

  1. slang a leg, esp a woman's shapely leg

"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

Etymology

Origin of gam1

1775–85; probably < Polari < Italian gamba leg; jamb 1

Origin of gam2

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; perhaps dialectal variant of game 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

France center back Raphael Varane said there will be no danger of complacency among his teammates in a gam against the world’s No. 22-ranked team.

From Washington Times • Dec. 13, 2022

Romo, 39, pitched in his 800th MLB gam, Monday night vs. the Twins.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 13, 2022

In Hebrew they say gam zeh ya'avor—this too shall pass.

From Golf Digest • Nov. 8, 2016

Asked to describe the current shape of the Middle East, a visiting Israeli official uses a Hebrew expression, gam vegam , which translates roughly to: “It’s going in both directions at once.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 1, 2016

The initial ham has dropped the m and become ha, and cum becomes co- in Latin; gam has become gma by metathesis; and gtan has passed into -tan by phonetic corruption.

From The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 3. (of 7): Media The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. by Rawlinson, George

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.