cam

1 of 3

noun (1)

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

cam

2 of 3

noun (2)

: camera
especially : video camera

CAM

3 of 3

abbreviation

1
computer-aided manufacturing
2
complementary and alternative medicine

Examples of cam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Tisch made her first difference in the NYPD by getting the department — sometimes kicking and screaming — to utilize smart phones, computers-in-patrol-cars, and body cams. Steve Cohen, New York Daily News, 13 July 2025 Live traffic cams from the DRBA showed no major traffic as of 9 a.m. Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Melina Khan, USA Today, 12 July 2025 The latest also comes after the city of Homewood filed a petition asking a judge to dismiss a motion from Peoples’ family asking for the city to release incident reports and evidence — including police body cam video, according to WBRC-TV and AL.com. Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 12 July 2025 Lyons caught this on the baby cam with the resulting clip sparking delight on TikTok, where it has already been watched over 1.9 million times. Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for cam

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

perhaps from French came, from German Kamm, literally, comb, from Old High German kamb

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1777, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1969, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cam was in 1777

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cam. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

Kids 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 noun
Etymology

Noun

perhaps from French came "cam," from German Kamm, literally, "comb"

Medical Definition

CAM

abbreviation
1
2
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)

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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