jamb
1 Americannoun
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jambs
plural
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Architecture, Building Trades.
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either of the vertical sides of a doorway, arch, window, or other opening.
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either of two stones, timbers, etc., forming the sidepieces for the frame of an opening.
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Armor. greave.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a vertical side member of a doorframe, window frame, or lining
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a vertical inside face of an opening in a wall
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jamb
1350–1400; Middle English jambe < Middle French: leg, jamb < Late Latin gamba, variant of camba pastern, leg < Greek kampḗ bend of a limb
Explanation
A jamb is one of the upright boards or posts that support a door or window frame. Your front door shuts securely in between two jambs. When a house builder frames a doorway, she sets two jambs at the sides of the opening, with what's called a lintel at the top. The door fits between the jambs. Windows have jambs too — if you replace your existing windows, you may need a whole new frame, including new jambs. The Old French origin is jambe, which means "pier or side post," but was originally "a leg or a shank," from the Late Latin gamba, "leg."
Vocabulary lists containing jamb
Learning Down The House: Parts of Your Home
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The Odyssey
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Paper Towns
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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.
See Examples For:
When I tested the original Lockly Vision, I couldn't access the fingerprint reader as the lock butted up too close to my door jamb.
From The Verge ● Jul. 22, 2022
It was sturdily built with a steel jamb, impossible to kick in.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2022
Check your tires every month to make sure they stay at the pressure recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer, which is listed on the jamb on the driver’s door.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2022
He was steaming his shirt while it hung from a door jamb.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2022
“Ten minutes,” said the guard, poking his head around the jamb before he shut and locked the door.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
“With stone jambs and dams, we often will play with the thickness and other dimensions, so that it adds depth and volume to the bathroom space.”
From Seattle Times ● May 23, 2024
Lacking an automated connection to a monitoring service, she connects exposed wires running along jambs to a light switch.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2023
“I started with a little campfire and it had eyes and it was really amorphous, like going through door jambs and keyholes” he said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
Even if it means his leaving scratch marks on the chamber’s door jambs on the way out.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2021
Bulging tongues of ice had broken doors off their hinges, and through their splintered jambs I could see evidence of a raid: kicked- over furniture, drawers torn open, snows of paper on the floor.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
