cram

1 of 2

verb

crammed; cramming

transitive verb

1
: to pack tight : jam
cram a suitcase with clothes
a novel crammed with surprises
2
a
: to fill with food to satiety : stuff
b
: to eat voraciously : bolt
the child crams her food
3
: to thrust in or as if in a rough or forceful manner
crammed the letters into his pocket
4
: to prepare hastily for an examination
cram the students for the test

intransitive verb

1
: to eat greedily or to satiety : stuff
2
: to study a subject intensively especially for an imminent examination
crammer noun

cram

2 of 2

noun

1
: a compressed multitude or crowd : crush
2
: last-minute study especially for an examination

Examples of cram in a Sentence

Verb He crammed the suitcase with his clothes. Before the trip I crammed my head with information about Spain. Noun battling the rush-hour cram in the subway
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
When the gang of Irish Republican Army raiders sped off into the night in April 1974 from an estate south of Dublin, 19 masterpieces were crammed into the car. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 Tech innovators crammed into the grand ballroom of a downtown San Jose hotel Monday evening to network with each other during the Nvidia Inception Reception, hoping to pitch — and find — the next game-changer of an idea. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024 Timberlake and his band of 14 musicians and backup vocalists crammed into the cubicle-sized space to perform seven tracks. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024 Many of those who fled the fighting are crammed into overwhelmed shelters without basic sanitation, leading to the spread of infections. Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 The city’s Black population was crammed into the inner core. Journal Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2024 Also, if a sled is not built to hold two people, do not try to cram more than one child in there. Heather Balogh Rochfort, Parents, 26 Feb. 2024 And while this can be quite the feat, it's made tremendously easier with this on-sale neck pillow, which is specially shaped to maximize your rest — no matter how long your flight is or how crammed your space is. Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 18 Feb. 2024 The sun hits hard here, with temperatures that hover around 100 degrees and people crammed into the stands. Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024
Noun
At the end of the school day, some kids would board a bus, not to go home, but to ride to their cram school, some of which were open until 9 pm. Amit Katwala, WIRED, 22 Aug. 2023 For late night cram sessions that won’t disrupt a sleeping roommate, this desk lamp from Globe Electric will make a perfect gift. Alida Nugent, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Sep. 2023 Many teenagers cite education as their biggest worry, with most Korean students going straight from regular school to extra tutoring at private cram schools every day, before continuing to study by themselves until late at night. Jessie Yeung, CNN, 5 Sep. 2023 Asked what classes were like in her last year of high school, the fateful period when students across the country cram for Egypt’s life-defining national exams, Nermin Abouzeid looked blank for a second. Vivian Yee, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2023 The same reason buyers flock to the fire-prone hills of Malibu or the Western Sierra or cram beach houses onto the sand as ocean levels rise. Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023 The black-and-white controller measures 3.3 by 5.3 by 1 inches (HWD) and crams information like current room temperature, heating and cooling set points, operational status, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection status, various icons, and more onto its oval screen. PCMAG, 5 July 2023 Video From The New Yorker Richard Brody's Best Films of 2022 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The movie crams incidents and emotion into its seventy-eight-minute span with a kaleidoscopic whirl of pugnacious energy. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2023 Determinant of success Over the decades, South Korea’s leaders have tried to implement regulations to soothe academic anxieties, ranging from curfews for cram schools to an outright ban in the 1980s. Time, 7 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cram.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English crammen, from Old English crammian; akin to Old Norse kremja to squeeze

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cram was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near cram

Cite this Entry

“Cram.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cram. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cram

verb
ˈkram
crammed; cramming
1
: to stuff or crowd in
cram clothes into a bag
2
: to fill full
barns crammed with hay
3
: to study hard just before a test
crammer noun

Biographical Definition

Cram 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

Donald James 1919–2001 American chemist

Cram

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Ralph Adams 1863–1942 American architect and author

More from Merriam-Webster on cram

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