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
Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 7 Dec. 2025
Sinclair couldn’t resist sharing the pet cam video on TikTok (@nicola01spam) and it’s gone viral with 388,700 views and 75,300 likes at the time of writing.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
While most kaiju movies focus on the monster’s origin and the brave army men or scientists who are trying to defeat it, Cloverfield’s shaky-cam POV keeps the audience as in the dark as its characters.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
The Arlo Essential Indoor cam is for you.
—PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
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Noun
Oakland police also asserted an exemption to a California law that requires the release within 45 days of body-cam footage in critical incidents when a peace officer discharges a firearm at a person, or when use of force results in death or great bodily injury.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 7 Dec. 2025
Sinclair couldn’t resist sharing the pet cam video on TikTok (@nicola01spam) and it’s gone viral with 388,700 views and 75,300 likes at the time of writing.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
While most kaiju movies focus on the monster’s origin and the brave army men or scientists who are trying to defeat it, Cloverfield’s shaky-cam POV keeps the audience as in the dark as its characters.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
The Arlo Essential Indoor cam is for you.
—PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cam
Cite this Entry
“Cam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cam. Accessed 14 Dec. 2025.
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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