jam

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A sweet spread made from fruit boiled with sugar, often eaten on bread or toast.

   She spread strawberry jam on her toast.

2. 2
   verb

   To become stuck so that something cannot move.

   The printer jammed and stopped working.

3. 3
   verb

   To push or force something tightly into a space.

   He jammed his clothes into the small bag.

4. 4
   noun

   A difficult or awkward situation.

   I'm in a real jam and need your help.

5. 5
   verb

   To play music informally with other people.

   The band stayed late to jam together.

First attested in the early 18th c. as a verb meaning “to press, be pressed, be wedged in”. Compare dialectal jammock (“to press, squeeze, crush into a soft mass, chew food"; also "a soft, pulpy substance”). Perhaps from Middle English chammen, champen ("to bite upon something, gnash the teeth"; whence modern champ, chomp), of uncertain origin; probably originally onomatopoeic. The "performance" sense is first attested with regards to jazz in 1929, and its origin, though uncertain, is likely metaphorical, "something sweet made by the combination of many things", with influence from jamboree.

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