a cut of meat from the heavy-muscled part of a hog's rear quarter, between hip and hock, usually cured.
that part of a hog's hind leg.
the part of the leg back of the knee.
Often hams. the back of the thigh, or the thigh and the buttock together.
an actor or performer who overacts.
an operator of an amateur radio station.
informal theatre
an actor who overacts or relies on stock gestures or mannerisms
overacting or clumsy acting
( as modifier )
a ham actor
informal
a licensed amateur radio operator
( as modifier )
a ham licence
the part of the hindquarters of a pig or similar animal between the hock and the hip
the meat of this part, esp when salted or smoked
informal
the back of the leg above the knee
the space or area behind the knee
needlework a cushion used for moulding curves
What else does ham mean? To go ham is to put in an extraordinary, even aggressive, amount of effort. If you went crazy eating ham, you'd be going ham on some ham. In this sense, ham may stand for hard as a motherf****r.
The “curse of Ham” refers to the biblical story in which Ham, seeing his father drunk and naked, refused to turn away as his two brothers did. When Noah awoke, he cursed Ham and his son Canaan, supposedly causing a darker pigmentation in their descendants. This so-called curse has often been wrongly used to justify racism.
Egypt (see also Egypt) was traditionally called “the Land of Ham,” and Ham was considered to be the ancestor of the Egyptians and of all African peoples south of Egypt.
before 1000; Middle English hamme, Old English hamm bend of the knee; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German hamme, Old High German hamma; akin to Old Norse hǫm buttock; perhaps akin to Greek knḗmē shin, Old Irish cnáim bone
First recorded in 1880–85; short for hamfatter, after The Hamfat Man, a Black minstrel song celebrating an awkward man
From its use in digital communications
Ham is a type of pork, or meat that comes from a pig. If you order a ham sandwich at a deli, you'll get a pile of thinly-sliced meat between two slices of bread. Most ham is preserved in some way, either smoked or salted, and traditionally this meat comes from a hog's hind legs. For many people who celebrate Easter, ham is a typical main dish. Ham, defined in the 1630s as "meat from the hind leg of a pig," comes from the Old English hamm, "hollow or bend of the knee." If you're a performer described as a ham, it means your acting is way too theatrical or exaggerated.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Skip processed meats such as bacon, ham, or sausages.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026
Clotted cream if you’re feeling Anglophilic, ham salad if your predilections lean towards the American South.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
The return of nostalgic favorites, like campfire meals and ham dinners, are helping to woo back guests, too, the company said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Mexico also agreed to recognize hundreds of food and drink products from specific EU regions, such as Parma ham and Roquefort cheese.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
I looked down at the plate of ham, boiled beans and fluffy biscuits.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
In response, Ham recorded a video telling Almendarez to shut up because “no one asked your opinion” and she has no “expertise in science.”
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
This became clear when the Ark Encounter’s founder Ken Ham threw a tantrum in response to what any reasonable person would see as soft-glove coverage of the anniversary.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
"A defining feature of the chip was precision current injection, which we used to permeabilize neuronal membranes for intracellular access," Ham said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
And Spurs will now top the £85m agreement struck with West Ham this week for midfielder Mateus Fernandes in order to bring Tonali to North London.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
She didn't mean that smile, and Ham Knapp didn't mean that "sorry."
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
Having participated in a 50K trail run in Big Bend, where the runners are isolated and only communicate through HAM radio, he understands it’s not the same rush you get with people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
The HAM index correctly predicted whether individuals could walk outside for 10 minutes without stopping with accuracy of about 68%.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024
Choirul Anam on Indonesia's human rights body, Komnas HAM, said on Monday that if tear gas hadn't been fired "maybe there wouldn't have been chaos."
From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2022
The network is divided into regions, where leaders sometimes hold training sessions on HAM radios, firearms or emergency first aid.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2021
He wore bright blue orthopedic sandals, a faded Bob Marley T-shirt, and a white baseball hat that said, HAM, BACON, SAUSAGE.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
ChatGPT said she’d need to make two turkeys, two hams and six pies to feed all those guests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
Of course there were blankets, water bottles, clothing, masks and hygiene products, but also grab-and-go salads, squeezable snacks for kids, candy, crates of fresh vegetables, protein and grain bars, even honey-baked hams and queen-sized mattresses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025
There is a pleasing calm to her delivery that stands out in a scene of fidgety hams.
From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
Many commercially available hams, especially highly processed and cured varieties, can be high in sodium, which is salt.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2024
On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
They played to the paparazzi, vamping at high-profile events including the Kentucky Derby and the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner, and hammed it up in “caught off-guard” moments at the supermarket or over lunch.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Now their AI capability, however obscure, is hammed up.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024
We don’t know if Nguyễn Phú Trọng, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was briefed on the age discussion in advance, but he really hammed it up for the press.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2023
Janie Dee hammed up “The Boy From …” a parody of “The Girl from Ipanema.”
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2022
In the ring Woody’s smile looked sly and crafty; he hammed it up.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
Drummer Joel Amey punctures the pomposity during The Sofa - hamming up his accent as he sings about feeling "stuck in Seven Sisters, Norf Lahn-dan".
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Was it necessary to have the head coach of the Warriors and a former Bulls shooting guard hamming it up on the party’s biggest night?
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2024
Was he hamming it up for the cameras?
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2024
During the six-week campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon have been hamming it up for the cameras, from scooping out ice cream to making pizzas.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
They were sitting on the deck, staring at Percy, but when he glared at them pointedly, they started hamming it up again, trembling and flopping around like fish.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
