definitions

lam

2
[ lam ]
/ læm /
Slang.
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lam ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a hasty escape; flight.

verb (used without object), lammed, lam·ming.

to run away quickly; escape; flee: I'm going to lam out of here as soon as I've finished.

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RELATED WORDS

wanted, elusive, short, temporary, flying, ephemeral, brief, volatile, passing, criminal, wandering, errant, erratic, evanescent, fleeting, flitting, hot, impermanent, momentary, moving

Nearby words

lalo, lalo-, lalochezia, lalopathy, laloplegia, lam, lam., lama, lamaism, lamar, lamarck

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.

Origin of lam

2
1885–90; special use of lam1. Compare beat it! be off!
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for on the lam (1 of 2)

lam

1
/ (læm) /

verb lams, lamming or lammed slang

(tr) to thrash or beat
(intr; usually foll by into or out) to make a sweeping stroke or blow

Word Origin for lam

C16: from Scandinavian; related to Old Norse lemja

British Dictionary definitions for on the lam (2 of 2)

lam

2
/ (læm) US and Canadian slang /

noun

a sudden flight or escape, esp to avoid arrest
on the lam
  1. making an escape
  2. in hiding

verb lams, lamming or lammed

(intr) to escape or flee

Word Origin for lam

C19: perhaps from lam 1 (hence, to be off)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with on the lam (1 of 2)

on the lam

Running away, especially from the police, as in He's always in some kind of trouble and perpetually on the lam. The origin of this slangy term of the 1800s is not known.

Idioms and Phrases with on the lam (2 of 2)

lam

see on the lam.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.