lam
verb (used with object)
to beat; thrash.
lam
1 American
[lam]
/ læm /
verb (used with object)
lammed,
lamming
verb (used without object)
lammed,
lamming
lam
2
American
[lam]
/ læm /
noun
verb (used without object)
lammed,
lamming
idioms
-
on the lam, escaping, fleeing, or hiding, especially from the police.
He's been on the lam ever since he escaped from jail.
-
take it on the lam, to flee or escape in great haste.
The swindler took it on the lam and was never seen again.
lām
3
American
[lahm]
/ lɑm /
noun
Lam
4
American
[lahm, lam]
/ lɑm, læm /
noun
lam.
5
American
abbreviation
Lam.
6
American
abbreviation
Bible.
lam
1
British
/ læm /
noun
-
a sudden flight or escape, esp to avoid arrest
-
-
making an escape
-
in hiding
-
verb
lam
2
British
/ læm /
verb
-
(tr) to thrash or beat
-
(intr; usually foll by into or out) to make a sweeping stroke or blow
Lam.
3
British
abbreviation
lam
More Idioms
Etymology
Origin of lam1
1590–1600; < Old Norse lamdi, past tense of lemja to beat; akin to lame 1
Origin of lam2
1885–90; special use of lam 1. Compare beat it! be off!
Origin of lām3
From Arabic; see origin at lambda
Explanation
The verb lam has two meanings: to hit or to run away. If you see a bully making little kids cry, you may be tempted to lam him in the nose and then lam before he can retaliate. The British slang meaning of lam, "hit or beat," is the oldest one, dating from the 16th century. It stems from an Old Norse root that means "to beat" or "to make lame." The newer, North American definition, "escape," can also be used as a noun: "After he stole his cousin's car he went on the lam." Experts trace this meaning back to slang used by pickpockets.
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:
Mr. Surkov was last reported to be on the lam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
He got nabbed after almost 14 years on the lam, some of them spent teaching scuba in Egypt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026
Monkeys on the lam in St. Louis and AI isn’t helping.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026
They went on the lam to Chicago, Florida, and Arizona, and points in between.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2024
After some time I got up and I was very thirsty and I went to Ammu !r room and said lam thirsty.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
“Southern California is such an important cultural destination and a big place of cultural production,” said CalArts dean Steven Lam.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Samsung’s U.S.-based suppliers Lam Research and Applied Materials both fell around 3.7% premarket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Lam says the move shows that Huawei has overcome some technical hurdles posed by U.S. sanctions that cut off access to global chip supply chains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Lam added: "When the law produces an outcome which is so wrong, it must be changed."
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Not just land but the Lam Sing Refugee Camp,” the captain says confidently.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Caryophylla fastigata, Lam.; and Porites subdigitata, Lam.: the only shell that we observed upon the reef was a Delphinula laciniata, Lam.
From Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Performed between the years 1818 and 1822 — Volume 2 by King, Phillip Parker
Others say that His name will be Comforter, Son of the strength of God, as is declared in Lam. i.
From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2 by Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm
All that they can do in such a subject is, to see vain and foolish things, and not to discover the land's iniquity, but to see false burdens, and causes of banishment, Lam. ii.
From A Hind Let Loose Or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland for the Interest of Christ. With the True State Thereof in All Its Periods by Shields, Alexander
How deeply, from this point of view, the loss of the king was felt, at the time when that which is here merely the ideal present became the real present, is seen from Lam. iv.
From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, Vol. 1 by Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm
Upon it we found several varieties of coral, particularly Explanaria mesenterina, Lam.;
From Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Performed between the years 1818 and 1822 — Volume 2 by King, Phillip Parker
The diversion which enthralls him most is golf, and once golf awarded him its most coveted prize: four months ago he lammed out a hole in one.
From Time Magazine Archive
But before a damage suit could be prosecuted, the spiritual leader of 20 million Ismali Moslems lammed out of town.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week he lammed out for good, dying at 86 on his upstate New York farm.
From Time Magazine Archive
Elia Kazan was casting Inge's new Broadway production, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, and when Tuesday Weld suddenly lammed for Hollywood, Sandy became understudy for two roles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Like kingpins, one steel tier lammed into another, then they all crashed to the floor with a sound as of the roof falling.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
You had to keep lamming and maybe you never got a chance to enjoy it.
From Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 by Various
I don’t blame you, now, for lamming me over the ear like you done.
From The Mesa Trail by Bedford-Jones, H.
I was bound to get a lamming purty soon anyhow.
From Danny's Own Story by Marquis, Don
"You went to Joe Pepper's room for the purpose of lamming him?" repeated old Mr. King, darting out of his chair.
From Five Little Peppers Grown Up by Sidney, Margaret
Shinners, scalpers, and tweaks are good too—jolly good!… but of course all this comes after lamming and tunding….
From Snake and Sword A Novel by Wren, Percival Christopher
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.
