cram

verb \ ˈkram \

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Examples: cram in a Sentence

Definition of cram

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

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crammer

noun

See cram defined for English-language learners

See cram defined for kids

Examples of cram in a Sentence

He crammed the suitcase with his clothes.
Before the trip I crammed my head with information about Spain.

Recent Examples of cram from the Web

Migrants have crammed themselves into all manner of compartments built to avoid detection.

— nicholas kulish, The Seattle Times, "Human smuggling cat-and-mouse game plays out beyond the U.S.-Mexico border," 9 July 2018
Quivering with excitement, the two boys crammed themselves into a phone booth and called Edward Galland.

— josephine livingstone, The New Republic, "Three Identical Men and a Mystery," 5 July 2018
Trust was the reason shipmates could live and work, for months at a time, in a windowless tube crammed with 100 other people.

— brenna bailey, azcentral, "Trust, brotherhood and pink underwear: USS Phoenix submarine vets reflect on life at sea," 27 June 2018
For the past five years, small groups of strangers have been cramming themselves into a small white dome on a volcano in Hawaii for months at a time.

— laura yan, Popular Mechanics, "What Happens When a Mars Simulation Goes Awry?," 23 June 2018
Webb believes it's where the passengers' steamer trunks landed, each one crammed with the clothing and valuables wealthy passengers considered important for their travels around the world.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "The 1838 shipwreck was 'the Titanic of its time.' Divers just made an eerie discovery," 17 June 2018
Simpson and his translator haunt the chain-smoking Jordanian businessmen who demanded the Nepalis’ passports and crammed them into squalid rooms.

— ellen barry, New York Times, "Terrorists Killed 12 Nepalese Men. Was an American Military Contractor to Blame?," 15 June 2018
All those boxes crammed with family photos were water-logged and smeared with the dingy grime of damp soot.

— jerry shnay, Daily Southtown, "Shnay: June brings colorful birds to my yard," 11 June 2018
There are bowed shelves holding physics texts, warped shelves holding books about classical music, shelves crammed with literary classics — and an overburdened shelf holding the six books of popular science that Livio has written himself.

— mary carole mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "Ahead of book talk, Baltimore Symphony science adviser explains the psychology of curiosity," 26 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cram.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cram

Middle English crammen, from Old English crammian; akin to Old Norse kremja to squeeze

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

cram Synonyms

cram

noun

Definition of cram

1 : a compressed multitude or crowd : crush

2 : last-minute study especially for an examination

See cram defined for English-language learners

Examples of cram in a Sentence

battling the rush-hour cram in the subway

Recent Examples of cram from the Web

Gesicki and Smythe need the nightly cram sessions to digest Miami’s playbook.

— omar kelly, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Dolphins rookie tight ends Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe cramming to play catch up," 11 June 2018
Every year, Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family cram onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping of the Colour.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Why Prince William Didn't Sit With Kate Middleton During Trooping the Colour," 10 June 2018
Those cram sessions are coming in the next few days for Nance, Clarkson, Osman and Zizic.

— chris fedor, cleveland.com, "How Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson are approaching their first postseason appearance," 12 Apr. 2018
Maroth, 40, looks back on his 9-21 record 15 years ago — no one has lost 20 or more games since — as a cram session of life lessons.

— stephen ruiz, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Fire Frogs coach Mike Maroth embraces lessons from long-lost season with Detroit Tigers," 6 Apr. 2018
And it is backed to these mind-numbing continuing resolutions, omnibus nightmares, and shutdown threats, and the result is usually a last-minute budget-busting cram down.

— Fox News, "Ingraham: Washington's real March Madness," 21 Mar. 2018
During the interim, these young adults, known as ronin, will likely study at a cram school.

— annabelle timsit, The Atlantic, "Overhauling Japan's High-Stakes University-Admission System," 13 Jan. 2018
So, the question of how many houses can a builder cram into 8 acres has sparked three years of debate, packed city meetings and triggered multiple lawsuits.

— bill laitner, Detroit Free Press, "Grosse Pointe Shores residents dispute how many houses should fit on 8 acres," 2 Jan. 2018
VCG/Getty Images Millions of Chinese cram onto trains to make the annual pilgrimage home for the Lunar New Year holiday.

— Fortune, "Bullet Trains Are Transforming the World's Biggest Migration," 12 Feb. 2018

First Known Use of cram

1810

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Cram

biographical name \ ˈkram \

Definition of Cram

Donald James 1919–2001 American chemist

Cram

biographical name

Definition of Cram

Ralph Adams 1863–1942 American architect and author

CRAM Defined for English Language Learners

cram

verb

Definition of cram for English Language Learners

: to fill (something) so that there is no room for anything else : to fill (something) completely
: to push or force (someone or something) into a space that is tight or crowded
: to push or force yourself into a space that is tight or crowded