chum

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈchəm 

: a close friend : pal

chumship

ˈchəm-ˌship 

noun

chum

2 of 5

verb (1)

chummed; chumming

intransitive verb

1

: to room together

2

a

: to be a close friend

b

: to show affable friendliness

c

: to spend time with someone as a friend

—usually used with around

In the early '50s he entered Cornell University but quit after two years and lit out for Greenwich Village, where he studied drama and chummed around with James Dean.

—William Plummer et al.

chum

3 of 5

noun (2)

: animal or vegetable matter (such as chopped fish or corn) thrown overboard to attract fish

chum

4 of 5

verb (2)

chummed; chumming

transitive verb

: to attract with chum

intransitive verb

: to throw chum overboard to attract fish

chum

5 of 5

noun (3)

: chum salmon

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• friend
• buddy

Verb (1)

• associate
• travel
• run
• bond
• mix
• join
• connect
• friend
• befriend
• mingle
• company
• collaborate

Examples of chum in a Sentence

Noun (1)

college chums who go way back

Verb (1)

they always chum around together

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

There’s Carol, her chum from their days in Baghdad, but Carol seems to have made a quiet, speedy retreat from London following Rayburn’s death. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025

The two got on famously, and have been chums ever since. —Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025

Verb

When catching fish, there will no doubt be blood and other things bringing sharks in, but chumming will almost always bring them in. —Jon Chapman, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2025

To make matters worse, in the chumming scenes the water is flat calm — terrible for creating a slick. —Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

earlier "roommate, person living in the same dwelling," perhaps by shortening & alteration from chamber fellow or chamber mate

Verb (1)

verbal derivative of chum entry 1

Noun (2)

of uncertain origin

Note: The word is apparently first attested along the New England coast. The Dictionary of American Regional English suggests a relation to "obs[olete] Engl[ish] & Scots dial[ect] chum food," but the sole attestation of such a word ("chum food, provision for the belly, Clydes[dale]") is in John Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808). Possibly related is chum "a formless mass (of vegetables) from over-boiling," in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, which points to Ulster Scots champ "potatoes, boiled and mashed," recorded in Joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary. This would presumably connect the word to champ entry 1.

Verb (2)

verbal derivative of chum entry 3

Noun (3)

probably borrowed from Chinook Jargon cəm "spotted, striped," from Lower Chinook c̓ə́m "variegated"

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1684, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1730, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1857, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1857, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (3)

1902, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing chum

• chum for
• chum salmon
• chum up

Rhymes for chum

• bum
• come
• crum
• cum
• drum
• dum
• dumb
• from
• frum
• glum
• gum
• hum

Kids Definition

chum

1 of 2 noun

ˈchəm 

: a close friend

chum

2 of 2 verb

chummed; chumming

: to be chums

Etymology

Noun

probably a shortened and altered form of earlier chamber fellow "roommate"