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• gum
  gum

  noun

  any of various viscid, amorphous exudations from plants, hardening on exposure to air and soluble in or forming a viscid mass with water.
• GUM
  GUM

  abbreviation

  genitourinary medicine

gum

¹ American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

noun

1. any of various viscid, amorphous exudations from plants, hardening on exposure to air and soluble in or forming a viscid mass with water.

2. any of various similar exudations, as resin.

3. a preparation of such a substance, as for use in the arts or bookbinding.

4. chewing gum.

5. mucilage; glue.

6. rubber.

7. gum tree.

8. Philately. the adhesive by which a postage stamp is affixed.

9. Informal. a rubber overshoe or boot.

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verb (used with object)

gummed, gumming

1. to smear, stiffen, or stick together with gum.

2. to clog with or as if with some gummy substance.

verb (used without object)

gummed, gumming

1. to exude or form gum.

2. to become gummy.

3. to become clogged with a gummy substance.

verb phrase

1. gum up to spoil or ruin.

idioms

1. gum up the works. work.

gum ² American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

noun

1. Also called gingiva.  Often gums the firm, fleshy tissue covering the alveolar parts of either jaw and enveloping the necks of the teeth.

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verb (used with object)

gummed, gumming

1. to masticate (food) with the gums instead of teeth.

2. to shape or renew the teeth of (a saw), as by grinding.

idioms

1. beat one's gums, to talk excessively or ineffectively.

gum ³ American  

[guhm] / gʌm /

idioms

1. by gum, (used as a mild oath).

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gum ¹ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. any of various sticky substances that exude from certain plants, hardening on exposure to air and dissolving or forming viscous masses in water

2. any of various products, such as adhesives, that are made from such exudates

3. any sticky substance used as an adhesive; mucilage; glue

4. short for kauri gum

5. See chewing gum bubble gum gumtree

6. a gumdrop

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verb

1. to cover or become covered, clogged, or stiffened with or as if with gum

2. (tr) to stick together or in place with gum

3. (intr) to emit or form gum

GUM ² British  

abbreviation

1. genitourinary medicine

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gum ³ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. Technical name: gingiva.  the fleshy tissue that covers the jawbones around the bases of the teeth

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gum ⁴ British  

/ ɡʌm /

noun

1. used in the mild oath by gum!

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gum ¹ Scientific  

/ gŭm /

1. Any of various sticky substances that are produced by certain plants and trees and dry into brittle solids soluble in water. Gums typically are colloidal mixtures of polysaccharides and mineral salts.

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gum ² Scientific  

/ gŭm /

1. See gingiva

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Other Word Forms

• gumless
  adjective
• gumlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gum¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gom(m)e, gum(m)e, from Old French gomme, from Vulgar Latin gumma, for Latin gummi, cummi, commi, from Greek kómmi, from Coptic kommi, from Egyptian kema, kemai, kmjt

Origin of gum²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English gom(m)e, Old English gōma “palate, jaws (in plural),” Old Norse gōmr “roof or floor of the mouth,” German Gaumen “palate”

Origin of gum³

First recorded in 1825–35; euphemism for God

Explanation

Gum is a sticky substance that oozes out of a tree or another plant, and chewing gum is the stuff you blow bubbles with or stick under your desk. Yuck. Natural gum has many uses, including as a thickener in food products. Chewing gum, however, has only one real use: it's made to be chewed but not swallowed. This kind of gum often has a fruity or minty flavor, and can sometimes be blown into bubbles. When you gum something up, you clog or block it — or you make it sticky. Completely different gums are the soft flesh inside your mouth where your teeth are rooted.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gum GUM gummed gumming

Curry pressed a bewitching soulfulness through all those layers of spirit gum and latex.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

Tests showed that extracts from the bean gum lowered HPV levels by 93% in saliva samples.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

It has the same ingredients — from beef to xanthan gum — but of course the inputs, such as property rates and labor costs, vary widely from country to country.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

A turkey sandwich and a pack of mint gum appeared to be the more prudent option.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

She tried to push away that did-something-bad feeling, but it stuck like bubble gum.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

Bartender Yevgeniya Chernyshkova was lined up Thursday for a shot at Moscow’s GUM department store just off Red Square after the government required vaccinations for workers in some sectors.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 2, 2021

Ten years ago, Dorothy Seabok and Ary Anderson were part of a sewing team bringing the hobby to youth at the Grace United Methodist Church, or the GUM program.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 10, 2020

Detsky Mir has one big advantage for recently-exfiltrated Soviet spies over better known department stores like GUM: It’s a toy store.

From Slate ● May 31, 2018

It reminds me of Moscow’s GUM department store in the days of the Soviet Union.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 23, 2017

While nobody talks anything but sugar at Martinique, nor cod in Newfoundland, at St. Louis the only subject of conversation is GUM.

From Memoirs (Vieux Souvenirs) of the Prince de Joinville by Lady Mary Sophia (Hely-Hutchinson) Loyd

That gummed up credit markets, tanked the value of money-market funds, and sent global stock markets into a tailspin.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

That gummed up financing and logistics for Arctic LNG 2 and stopped South Korean shipbuilders from delivering to the project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025

In a memo to employees, Fiddelke said he was trying to clear up “complexity” that gummed up decision-making and made it harder to deliver on ideas, according to the Journal.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2025

For as long as the process is gummed up in parliament, ministers can point to it being gummed up in parliament.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2024

The rain'd gummed a loop of her beautiful hair to her smooth forehead.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

That is gumming up private-equity’s tried-and-true formula of raising money from investors to buy companies, then flipping them for a profit a few years later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

"It's almost palpably eager to please – and if you don't welcome it right into your heart, you might want to check there's not some marmalade gumming it shut."

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025

And despite the claims that she’s gumming up the state’s process with her appeals, Gilbert has never actually reversed a council decision.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2025

But for a few hours a day, the 4-month-old pygmy hippo springs to life, gumming on leaves, zooming around the compound and tossing her head in a silent, open-mouthed roar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2024

I keep going, one foot in front of the other, tears gumming up the back of my throat, until I feel I’m far enough away that they won’t find me.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

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