cram

1 of 2

verb

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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Parents upset by the news that two elementary schools are likely to close at the end of the school year crammed into the Grapevine-Colleyville school board meeting Monday night and also filled an overflow room. Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Nov. 2025 But when wooden crates crammed with greys arrived in November 2024, there were only 113 living birds, 13 others having died on the flight. Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
Noun
The concept of those parties was to cram as many people as possible into a very small basement, encourage everyone to get totally wasted, and then unleash the sounds of Meltdown at pain level. Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025 The 10 days off before back-to-back home games against the Jets (0-5) and Chicago Bears (2-3) would be ideal to help a new acquisition cram as much of the offense as possible. Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cram

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of cram was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cram.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cram. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.

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)

Donald James 1919–2001 American chemist

Cram

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Ralph Adams 1863–1942 American architect and author

More from Merriam-Webster on cram

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