jam-packed
Britishadjective
Explanation
Anything that's jam-packed is as crowded or full as it can be. If you hate crowds, you'll want to avoid the jam-packed shopping malls around Christmas time. A subway car in Tokyo at rush hour is jam-packed, while a bus in a small village in Germany may have only a few passengers. And a dull day in traffic court will be sparsely attended, but during a dramatic celebrity trial the courthouse is bound to be jam-packed. This adjective is informal, dating from about the turn of the twentieth century. Earlier it was jam-full — both come from the "squeeze into a space" sense of jam.
Vocabulary lists containing jam-packed
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.
This will be a big week for U.S. macroeconomic watchers, and not just because of a jam-packed schedule of earnings and statistical releases.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
The dip comes ahead of a jam-packed day tomorrow that will provide investors with a lot of information on the health of both the economy and major tech firms.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
It’s both one of the most exclusive, sought-after invites in town and a jam-packed, raucous bash.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026
The country’s nerves have been frayed, Minister for Social Affairs Aqqaluaq B. Egede told a jam-packed room of local and international journalists.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
Meanwhile the truck and vans, now jam-packed with handcuffed men and women and dogs and black policemen, hummed engines and prepared to leave.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
