Jump To:

• jam
  jam

  verb (used with object)

  to press, squeeze, or wedge tightly between bodies or surfaces, so that motion or extrication is made difficult or impossible.
• Jam.
  Jam.

  abbreviation

  Jamaica.

jam

¹ American  

[jam] / dʒæm /

verb (used with object)

• jams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jammed,
  past participle,  past
• jamming
  present participle

1. to press, squeeze, or wedge tightly between bodies or surfaces, so that motion or extrication is made difficult or impossible.

   The ship was jammed between two rocks.

2. to bruise or crush by squeezing.

   She jammed her hand in the door.

3. to fill too tightly; cram.

   He jammed the suitcase with clothing.

4. to press, push, or thrust violently, as into a confined space or against some object.

   She jammed her foot on the brake.

5. to fill or block up by crowding; pack or obstruct.

   Crowds jammed the doors.

6. to put or place in position with a violent gesture (often followed byon ).

   He jammed his hat on and stalked out of the room.

7. to make (something) unworkable by causing parts to become stuck, blocked, caught, displaced, etc..

   to jam a lock.

8. Radio.

   1. to interfere with (radio signals or the like) by sending out other signals of approximately the same frequency.

   2. (of radio signals or the like) to interfere with (other signals).

9. Music. to play (a piece) in a freely improvised, swinging way; jazz up.

   to jam both standard tunes and the classics.

10. Nautical. to head (a sailing ship) as nearly as possible into the wind without putting it in stays or putting it wholly aback.

---

verb (used without object)

• jams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jammed,
  past participle,  past
• jamming
  present participle

1. to become stuck, wedged, fixed, blocked, etc..

   This door jams easily.

2. to press or push, often violently, as into a confined space or against one another.

   They jammed into the elevator.

3. (of a machine, part, etc.) to become unworkable, as through the wedging or displacement of a part.

4. Music. to participate in a jam session.

5. to collaborate informally, freely, and creatively with others.

   Our department was jamming on a customer project and didn't have time to prep a demo for the conference.

6. Slang.

   1. to make good progress; do well.

      Working alone is awesome when I’m jamming on a project that I love.

   2. to thoroughly like or enjoy something.

      The colors came out rather well, but I'm just not jamming on the actual image.

noun

1. the act of jamming or the state of being jammed.

2. a mass of objects, vehicles, etc., jammed together or otherwise unable to move except slowly.

   a log jam; a traffic jam.

3. Informal. a difficult or embarrassing situation; fix.

   He got himself into a jam with his boss.

4. Music.

   1. jam session.

   2. a piece of music.

      On November 18, the 16-year-old star dropped her new jam, marking an evolution in her sound and style.

5. Slang.

   1. something that one particularly likes, enjoys, or does well: Since math is not my jam, I’ll let y’all figure out the rest.

      Seriously, a huge meat patty and garlic fries are pretty much my jam after a day outside.

      Since math is not my jam, I’ll let y’all figure out the rest.

   2. something that one finds pleasant or easy.

      Life isn't all jam for me just now.

6. a contest, meeting, or conference at which people collaborate informally, freely, and creatively.

   People from 158 countries registered for the jam and shared their ideas for action to improve the quality of life in the world’s cities.

jam ² American  

[jam] / dʒæm /

noun

1. a preserve of whole fruit, slightly crushed, boiled with sugar.

   strawberry jam.

---

idioms

1. put on jam, to adopt a self-important manner or use affected speech.

Jam. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Jamaica.

---

jam ¹ British  

/ dʒæm /

verb

1. (tr) to cram or wedge into or against something

   to jam paper into an incinerator

2. (tr) to crowd or pack

   cars jammed the roads

3. to make or become stuck or locked

   the switch has jammed

4. to activate suddenly (esp in the phrase jam on the brakes )

5. (tr) to block; congest

   to jam the drain with rubbish

6. (tr) to crush, bruise, or squeeze; smash

7. radio to prevent the clear reception of (radio communications or radar signals) by transmitting other signals on the same frequency

8. slang (intr) to play in a jam session

---

noun

1. a crowd or congestion in a confined space

   a traffic jam

2. the act of jamming or the state of being jammed

3. informal a difficult situation; predicament

   to help a friend out of a jam

4. See jam session

jam ² British  

/ dʒæm /

noun

1. a preserve containing fruit, which has been boiled with sugar until the mixture sets

2. slang something desirable

   you want jam on it

3. the principle of living for the moment

---

Jam. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Jamaica

2. Bible James

---

jam More Idioms  

1. see under get in a bind.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• jammer
  noun
• jamlike
  adjective
• jammy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• jamming
  present
• jammed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• jam
  simple
• jams
  simple
• have jammed
  perfect
• has jammed
  perfect
• am jamming
  progressive
• are jamming
  progressive
• is jamming
  progressive
• have been jamming
  perfect progressive
• has been jamming
  perfect progressive

Past

• jammed
  simple
• had jammed
  perfect
• was jamming
  progressive
• were jamming
  progressive
• had been jamming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will jam
  simple
• will have jammed
  perfect
• will be jamming
  progressive
• will have been jamming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of jam¹

First recorded in 1700–10; apparently imitative; cf. champ ¹, dam ¹

Origin of jam²

First recorded in 1730–40; perhaps special use of jam ¹ (in the sense “to bruise or crush by squeezing”)

Explanation

To jam is to squeeze something tightly into a space, the way your friends might jam themselves into your tiny car. You might have to jam an extra row of books onto your bookshelf when you run out of room. Another way to jam is to get stuck, and a jam can be a dense bunch of stuck people or things, like a traffic jam. If you play a musical instrument, you might jam, or casually improvise, with other musicians. And of course the jam you spread on your toast is a delicious, sweet fruit preserve.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jam Jam. jams jammed jamming

"We need to keep talking, but now we need to set conditions," is the view of Najia the jam maker.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

We’d jam at the end or try all these things to make it sound different.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

“To get out of a bases-loaded jam, get your first punchout, just excited for him. He deserves that.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

I bought a jar of blackberry jam because it sounded good.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

She saw a bowl of red paste that Grandmother had said was jam.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

“We’re definitely taking security extremely serious at Kelce Jam. You’ll definitely feel safe being there.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2024

“It’s not going to stop anytime soon – especially with Kelce Jam. I think this will be the nail-in-the-coffin for the 2022 season.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2023

“If you don’t have chemistry, you can’t win Peach Jam. It’s impossible.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2014

I feel like that’s kind of how it is with music, most people are like, “Oh my God, Nirvana. Pearl Jam. Soundgarden.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2014

“They didn’t listen, Jam. I tried to tell them, and they didn’t listen.”

From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi

Traffic jams dominate headlines and social media, pushing authorities to keep vehicles moving.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

I ping-ponged from soft cheeses to eggs and squash, then past a gelato cart and a table crowded with jams, pepper jellies and a milk carton filled with VHS tapes.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

"I've had enough of these traffic jams," says Vassiliki Karvela as she finally reaches the local weekly market in her town of 90,000 inhabitants.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

As the World Cup landed in the U.S. for the first time in three decades, international soccer fans have been acquainting themselves with the distinctly American pleasures of barbecue, highway traffic jams and Texas summers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

She once conducted another experiment in which she set up a tasting booth with a variety of exotic gourmet jams at the upscale grocery store Draeger’s in Menlo Park, California.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Those included a residential sliding glass door popping out of its frame, shifting entry gates that jammed shut, and an increase in water leaking through the garage ceiling hours before the final collapse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

The avenue is jammed on weekends, a rare artery of late-night action surrounded by streets abandoned to stray dogs as midnight approaches.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

David was one of five children; a tight-knit, loving unit jammed into a tiny terrace in Bradford.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

“A lot of time they’re jammed together by some critics and the artists reject the name and the association. But think about Patti Smith and Sam Shepard. Did you know they dated for a while?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

At last he grabbed the remote and jammed his thumb on the power button, but nothing happened.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

So can radio-frequency jamming and electronic warfare systems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

“I remember one time he invited us to Sunset Sound in the middle of the night. We get there and we’re jamming, then suddenly we look around and he’s disappeared. ‘

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

But the Defense Department also needs satellites that can withstand the effects of a nuclear explosion, get signals through enemy jamming, conduct jamming itself, and track and target objects in flight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

He’s been jamming with The Internet again, his collective with childhood friends Syd and Matt Martians, who emerged from the Odd Future nexus to become a pacesetting act for young R&B and hip-hop fans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Then of a sudden he truly hated her guts and Joe’s guts for holding him up, for jamming him back into a corner from which there could apparently be no escape.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols