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Origin of Spam

First recorded in 1937 for the trademarked term; sp(iced) + (h)am1; 1990–95 for the other senses, probably referring to a comedy routine on Monty Python's Flying Circus, British TV series, in which the word Spam is used repeatedly

OTHER WORDS FROM Spam

spammer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Spam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Spam (1 of 2)

spam
/ (spæm) computing slang /

verb spams, spamming or spammed
to send unsolicited electronic mail or text messages simultaneously to a number of e-mail addresses or mobile phones
noun
unsolicited electronic mail or text messages sent in this way

Derived forms of spam

spammer, noun

Word Origin for spam

C20: from the repeated use of the word Spam in a popular sketch from the British television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, first broadcast in 1969

British Dictionary definitions for Spam (2 of 2)

Spam
/ (spæm) /

noun
trademark a kind of tinned luncheon meat, made largely from pork
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

Cultural definitions for Spam

spam

Unsolicited, undesired e-mail. Also used as a verb. Spam is the e-mail version of junk mail.

notes for spam

The name comes from a Monty Python comedy skit about a restaurant that served only Spam.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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