cram

1 of 2

verb

ˈkram 

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

Synonyms

Verb

• crowd
• crush
• jam
• ram
• sandwich
• shoehorn
• squeeze
• stuff
• wedge

Noun

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• flock
• herd
• horde
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• swarm
• throng

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

Their squabbling hardly makes a stir here, in a boisterous environ of myriad ethnicities and immigrant nationalities crammed into a building whose crumbling infrastructure is much complained about but never repaired. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 Apr. 2024

The Dublin Unified freshman is taking four Advanced Placement classes next year and has crammed his schedule with extracurricular activities to better his chances of getting into an Ivy League school. —Molly Gibbs, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024

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

Phrases Containing cram

• cram in

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)

ˈkram 

Donald James 1919–2001 American chemist

Cram

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Ralph Adams 1863–1942 American architect and author