glam

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noun

ˈglam 

1

: glamour

When it came to glam, the 36-year-old rocked a rosy smokey eye and a pink lip.

—India Roby

… Cow Creek Ranch … in south Shasta County has three separate homes decorated in Hollywood-style American West glam.

—Jessica Skropanic

2

: glam rock

The 1970s saw … the invention of queer or transgressive subgenres such as disco, punk, and glam …

—Alyxandra Vesey

glam adjective

a glam look

glam gowns

The clip opened with [Khloe] Kardashian's glam squad tending to her face and hair …

—Ashleigh Gray

… finds his expressive voice … amid the tones of … acoustic guitars and hammily epic glam anthems.

—Tribune News Service

glam

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verb

glammed; glamming; glams

transitive verb

informal

: to make (someone or something) glamorous or more glamorous

—usually used with up

… supermodels strut the runways of Paris, Milan, and New York all glammed up in a breathtaking Galliano tulle explosion or impeccably tailored Westwood period piece.

—Paul Matthews

Making his feature directorial debut, Director X … shoots in Atlanta instead of Harlem, glamming up the story with fast cars, hip-hop and lots more women than the original …

—Sara Stewart

—sometimes used with out

I don't bother with getting glammed out with fancy stuff like I used to.

—Steven Tyler, quoted in Rolling Stone

Examples of glam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The first photos showed Madonna holding a glass toward the camera while sticking out her tongue, a glam selfie and a snap of Rocco, 25, with two others. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026

And her signature glam doesn’t stop there—Clooney is known for her thick, glossy brown mane, often blow-dried into bombshell waves. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 3 Feb. 2026

Verb

It should be noted that 2025 brought a dramatic change in this department for Clooney, who chopped off 8 inches of her hair with her go-to glam Dimitris Giannetos. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 3 Feb. 2026

The package will include lots of carbon fiber, which is a must these days for luxury cars trying to glam up. —Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for glamour or glamorous

Verb

derivative of glam entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1961, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1940, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing glam

• glam rock