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• Spam
  Spam

  a canned food product consisting especially of pork formed into a solid block.
• spam
  spam

  verb

  to send unsolicited electronic mail or text messages simultaneously to a number of e-mail addresses or mobile phones

Spam

American  

[spam] / spæm /

Trademark.

1. a canned food product consisting especially of pork formed into a solid block.

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noun

1. (lowercase) disruptive online messages, especially commercial messages posted on a computer network or sent as email (often used attributively).

   Install spam blocker software and keep your email spam filters updated to protect your accounts from unsolicited spam.

adjective

1. (lowercase) (of promotional content on the internet) irrelevant or misdirected.

   The search engine delivered spam websites that had nothing to do with my keywords.

verb (used with object)

spammed, spamming

1. (lowercase) to send spam to.

2. (lowercase) to execute (an action) or use (an item) rapidly or repeatedly in a video game.

   Spam the attack button as soon as the fight begins.

verb (used without object)

spammed, spamming

1. (lowercase) to send spam.

Spam ¹ British  

/ spæm /

noun

1. a kind of tinned luncheon meat, made largely from pork

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spam ² British  

/ spæm /

verb

1. to send unsolicited electronic mail or text messages simultaneously to a number of e-mail addresses or mobile phones

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noun

1. unsolicited electronic mail or text messages sent in this way

spam Cultural  

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

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Discover More

The name comes from a Monty Python comedy skit about a restaurant that served only Spam.

Other Word Forms

• spammer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Spam

First recorded in 1937 for the trademarked term; sp(iced) + (h)am ¹; 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

Explanation

There are few things more annoying than an email inbox full of spam. Spam is unwanted internet advertising that's sent to a huge number of people at a time. In 1937, a canned meat product named Spam was introduced by Hormel Foods, which said that its name was a combination of the words spiced and ham. Later, in a 1970 comedy sketch, the word was used in a silly song, in which the name of the food product was repeated over and over, drowning out the conversation. Not until the early 1990s did the more modern definition of spam come into use, referring to mass-distributed email advertisements under which more important content gets buried. As a verb, to spam is to send such a message.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Spam spam spammed spamming

The food company, which owns Spam and Skippy peanut butter, on Thursday posted a profit of $59.6 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with $183.7 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The food company behind brands including Planters, Skippy and Spam on Thursday posted a profit of $181.8 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with $170.5 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

Hormel, which is best known as the parent of the Spam and Planters brands, recently cut its profit outlook amid higher-than-expected costs for meat, as well as nuts.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2025

Near Pike Place Market is Musubi Kai, doing Pacific Island rice bowls like poke and loco moco along with a dozen riffs on Spam musubi.

From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024

International Red Cross workers gave us blankets and cans of Spam and sardines.

From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat

The police department added that there were no signs of breaches to any departmental systems, and that its safeguarding processes stopped the fake tip from getting past its spam folder.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Police said the tip, dated July 18, was flagged as spam and never reached the department's Real-Time Crime Center for vetting.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The submission, dated July 18, went to spam and was never sent for further investigation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Instagram’s terms of service prohibit intellectual property violations, spam, illegal content, hate speech, bullying and abuse, self-injury, graphic violence and inappropriate imagery that may include nudity or sexual content.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

And, setting aside the question of raw spam, the plain fact is that some information is simply more interesting than others.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Before the pandemic, Xu remembers being spammed in recruitment group chats with new job postings every spring and fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

The McDonald's worker alleged to have turned him in has become a target for online hate, while the fast-food franchise itself has been spammed with bad reviews.

From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2024

They are being spammed with it,” she says.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 23, 2024

Federal Trade Commission charges it spammed consumers with marketing emails without giving them a way to opt out.

From Reuters ● Aug. 14, 2023

“And my cousin Molly. She spammed me with quotes for a week straight.”

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

The company has reached out to the institutions affected, he added, saying the broader review, including lower-severity incidents like “ agents spamming websites” will take months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Board members told the high court in their filing that the accounts were maintained without government funding, and the parents were blocked after spamming the accounts.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 26, 2023

Many considered the blocking feature a tool used to protect themselves on the platform from harassment, hate speech and spamming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2023

Though the name might conjure up images of crypto hypers spamming you with NFTs, not so long ago it was considered to be quite a reputable institution.

From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2023

Some Web sites, for example, send out mass email advertisements containing the site's URL, the spamming process we have described above.

From Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Ruling by United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Pennsylvania