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definitions

Idioms

    gum up the works. work(def 51).

Origin of gum

1
1350–1400; Middle English gomme < Old French < Vulgar Latin *gumma, for Latin gummi, cummi < Greek kómmi
Related formsgum·less, adjectivegum·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gum up

bungle, blow, blunder, boggle, boot, bumble, butcher, distort, err, flounder, flub, fumble, mar, mend, mess, misapply, miscalculate, bobble, bollix
British Dictionary definitions for gum up

gum up

verb (tr, adverb)

to cover, dab, or stiffen with gum
informal to make a mess of; bungle (often in the phrase gum up the works)

GUM

abbreviation for

genitourinary medicine

gum

1

noun

any of various sticky substances that exude from certain plants, hardening on exposure to air and dissolving or forming viscous masses in water
any of various products, such as adhesives, that are made from such exudates
any sticky substance used as an adhesive; mucilage; glue
NZ short for kauri gum
See chewing gum, bubble gum, gumtree
mainly British a gumdrop

verb gums, gumming or gummed

to cover or become covered, clogged, or stiffened with or as if with gum
(tr) to stick together or in place with gum
(intr) to emit or form gum
See also gum up
Derived Formsgumless, adjectivegumlike, adjective

Word Origin for gum

C14: from Old French gomme, from Latin gummi, from Greek kommi, from Egyptian kemai

gum

2

noun

the fleshy tissue that covers the jawbones around the bases of the teethTechnical name: gingiva Related adjective: gingival

Word Origin for gum

Old English gōma jaw; related to Old Norse gōmr, Middle High German gūme, Lithuanian gomurīs

gum

3

noun

used in the mild oath by gum!

Word Origin for gum

C19: euphemism for God
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
Word Origin and History for gum up

gum

n.1

"resin," c.1300, from Old French gome "(medicinal) gum, resin," from Late Latin gumma, from Latin gummi, from Greek kommi "gum," from Egyptian kemai. As a shortened form of chewing gum, first attested 1842 in American English. The gum tree (1670s) was so called for the resin it exudes.

gum

n.2

"membranes of the mouth," Old English goma "palate, side of the mouth" (single or plural), from a Germanic source represented by Old Norse gomi "palate," Old High German goumo; related to Lithuanian gomurys "palate," and perhaps from PIE *gheu- "to yawn" (cf. Greek khaos; see chaos).

gum

v.

early 14c., gommen, "treat with (medicinal or aromatic) gums," from gum (n.1). In the transferred or figurative sense of "spoil, ruin" (usually with up), it is first recorded 1901, probably from the notion of machinery becoming clogged. Of infants, etc., "to chew or gnaw (something) with the gums," by 1907, from gum (n.2). Related: Gummed; gumming.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
gum up in Science

gum

1
[gŭm]

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.

gum

2
[gŭm]

See gingiva.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with gum up

gum up

Ruin or bungle something, as in The front office has gummed up the sales campaign thoroughly. This idiom is also put as gum up the works, as in John's changes in procedures have gummed up the works in the shipping department. [Slang; c. 1900]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.