cram

1 of 2

verb

ˈkram 

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 excess : 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 excess : stuff

2

: to study a subject intensively especially for an imminent examination

crammer noun

cram

2 of 2

noun

1

: a compressed multitude or crowd : crush

2

: last-minute study especially for an examination

Synonyms of cram

Verb

• squeeze
• stuff
• load

Noun

• swarm
• throng
• flock
• crowd
• horde
• multitude

Examples of cram in a Sentence

Verb

He crammed the suitcase with his clothes.

Before the trip I crammed my head with information about Spain.

Noun

battling the rush-hour cram in the subway

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The hotel is in a complex crammed with drinking and dining joints, like the Penthouse Bar & Grill on the 36th floor that offers panoramic views of the Thai capital. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026

What followed was a filmography crammed with all the great leading men of her time. — Vogue, 7 Oct. 2026

Noun

In the vein of luxury automakers racing to cram more AI features into their vehicles, BMW is integrating Amazon’s Alexa into the i3. — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 29 Sep. 2026

So Helen networks to get Bo and Mido admitted to an elite hagwon—an extracurricular cram school—and sends DH, an athlete, to Andover, then Yale. — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cram

• cram in

Rhymes for cram

• am
• bam
• cham
• clam
• damme
• damn
• dram
• flam
• fram
• gram
• ham
• jam

Kids Definition

cram

verb

ˈkram

crammed; cramming

1

: to stuff or crowd in

cram clothes into a bag

2

: to fill full

barns crammed with hay

3

: to study hard just before a test

crammer noun

Biographical Definition

Cram 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈkram 

Donald James 1919–2001 American chemist

Cram

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Ralph Adams 1863–1942 American architect and author