cram

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /kræm/ UK /kræm/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like clam /l/ vs /r/

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.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

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

Actions & Processes

External links

# cram

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**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
- Actions & Processes

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