cram

C2+ Topic:Education & Learning

US /kræm/ UK /kræm/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like clam /l/ vs /r/

verb noun

Meanings

1

verb
to force into a tight space, or to study intensively before an exam

He stayed up all night to cram for the chemistry final.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to force into a tight... stuff pack jam wedge compress crowdswot

Opposites

empty loosen

Word family

Derived forms crammercramming

Etymology

From Old English 'crammian' ('to stuff, fill'), from Proto-Germanic '*krammojan', related to the notion of pressing or squeezing together.

crammian Old English *krammojan Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning

# cram

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** kræm
**IPA (UK):** kræm

## Meanings
1. to force into a tight space, or to study intensively before an exam

## Examples
- He stayed up all night to cram for the chemistry final.

## Synonyms
- stuff
- pack
- jam
- wedge
- compress
- crowd
- swot

## Antonyms
- empty
- loosen

## Derived Forms
- crammer
- cramming

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: crammian
- Root: *krammojan

## Etymology
From Old English 'crammian' ('to stuff, fill'), from Proto-Germanic '*krammojan', related to the notion of pressing or squeezing together.

## AI Etymology
Cram is a verb and noun meaning "to force into a tight space, or to study intensively before an exam". Historically, it is from Old English 'crammian' ('to stuff, fill'), from Proto-Germanic '*krammojan', related to the notion of pressing or squeezing together. The historical chain links Old English crammian with Proto-Germanic *krammojan. Close English family members include crammer, and cramming. This keeps the modern verb and noun sense tied to the older forms and language sequence behind it.

## Topics
- Education & Learning

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cram

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