1
: a rotating or sliding piece (such as an eccentric wheel or a cylinder with an irregular shape) in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming rotary motion into linear motion or vice versa
2
: camshaft
an engine with a single overhead cam
: camera
especially
: video camera
1
computer-aided manufacturing
2
complementary and alternative medicine
Examples of cam in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
Last summer, Brossoit and doctors, after examining his right hip, found the root cause of the knee pain — a cam lesion on the head of his femur that was causing issues with cartilage inside the joint.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
The National Zoo announced Friday that its 5-week-old Asian elephant calf, Linh Mai, will make her debut before the general public — and on the elephant cam — on April 22, an introduction to human society that follows a brief health scare.
—Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2026
Court cam Elon Musk arrives at federal court on March 4, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cam
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Noun
Detectives used dash cam video from a passing vehicle, as well as city cameras and license plate readers, to identify Phillips as a suspect in the shooting, according to court documents.
—Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
Last summer, Brossoit and doctors, after examining his right hip, found the root cause of the knee pain — a cam lesion on the head of his femur that was causing issues with cartilage inside the joint.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
The National Zoo announced Friday that its 5-week-old Asian elephant calf, Linh Mai, will make her debut before the general public — and on the elephant cam — on April 22, an introduction to human society that follows a brief health scare.
—Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2026
Court cam Elon Musk arrives at federal court on March 4, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cam
Cite this Entry
“Cam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cam. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cam
1 of 2 noun
: a device by which circular motion may be transformed into stop-and-start or back-and-forth motion
cam
2 of 2 nounEtymology
Noun
perhaps from French came "cam," from German Kamm, literally, "comb"
Medical Definition
CAM
abbreviation2
complementary and alternative medicine
According to a 2002 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics, 36 percent of adults in the United States used some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), including naturopathy, relaxation techniques, chiropractic, yoga, massage, and diets.—In-Sung Yoo, The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware)
In-Sung Yoo, The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware)Geographical Definition
Cam
geographical name
river 40 miles (64 kilometers) long in Cambridgeshire, east central England, flowing into the Ouse River
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