Definition of jamb
1 : an upright piece or surface forming the side of an opening (as for a door, window, or fireplace)
2 : a projecting columnar part or mass
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of jamb from the Web
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On a recent visit by The Bee to the fourth-floor stockroom, a staff member pointed out corroded drawer handles, door jambs and metal outlet covers.
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Meanwhile, Swartz's cross-ideological cadres were kicking out the jambs.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jamb'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of jamb
Middle English jambe, borrowed from Anglo-French jambe, gaunbe “side post of a door or window,” literally, “leg,” going back to Late Latin gamba, camba “hock or upper leg of a horse,” borrowed from Greek kampḗ “bend, flexion of a limb,” probably going back to a European substratal base *kamp-, whence also perhaps Lithuanian kam̃pas “corner, hidden place,” Latvian kampis “curved piece of wood, kettle hook,” Gothic hamfs “maimed”
JAMB Defined for English Language Learners
jamb
playDefinition of jamb for English Language Learners
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: a board that forms the side of a door or window
JAMB Defined for Kids
jamb
playDefinition of jamb for Students
: a vertical piece forming the side of an opening (as for a doorway)
Learn More about jamb
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See words that rhyme with jamb Spanish Central: Translation of jamb Nglish: Translation of jamb for Spanish speakers
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