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 framed photo of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta sits in my personal office on a bookshelf crammed with volumes about California and the American West. —Gustavo Arellano, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026

Seagrasses cram the emerald chloroplasts that do the work of photosynthesis into the very top layer of the leaf. —David George Haskell, Big Think, 27 Mar. 2026

Noun

Amazon plans to double its launch frequency and cram more satellites into each rocket as the company races to catch up with SpaceX’s Starlink. —Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026

Suddenly, those who might otherwise ditch their textbooks over winter break start to cram. —Storey Wertheimer, NBC news, 20 Mar. 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