gammon
1 Americannoun
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the game of backgammon.
-
a victory in which the winner throws off all their pieces before the opponent throws off any.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a smoked or cured ham.
-
the lower end of a side of bacon.
noun
verb (used without object)
-
to talk gammon.
-
to make pretense.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a double victory in backgammon in which one player throws off all his pieces before his opponent throws any
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archaic the game of backgammon
verb
noun
-
a cured or smoked ham
-
the hindquarter of a side of bacon, cooked either whole or cut into large rashers
noun
verb
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gammon1
First recorded in 1690–1700; perhaps special use of Middle English gamen game 1
Origin of gammon2
First recorded in 1480–90; from Old French gambon “ham” ( French jambon ), derivative of gambe; see jamb 1
Origin of gammon3
First recorded in 1710–20; perhaps special use of gammon 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.
Couples who fail to convince are given a bit of gammon as a consolation prize and must walk through the town behind an empty chair.
From BBC • Jul. 13, 2024
Her ham in cola is a treasure of a dish that calls for boiling a gammon in two liters of Coca-Cola, with an onion chucked in for mellow savoriness.
From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2021
“I thought it would get lost in the ether. When I started getting requests from serious news organisations to discuss gammon, my conviction that the world had gone irrevocably insane only deepened.”
From The Guardian • Dec. 25, 2019
They say the bookie always wins - but in 1898 a mystery syndicate managed to gammon the establishment and make themselves a tidy sum with an audacious scam.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2018
I should’ve just gone while I had the chance, but the dogs had prehistoric fangs, deranged eyes, gammon tongues, and steel chains round their necks.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
