spam

1 of 3

noun

ˈspam 

: unsolicited usually commercial messages (such as emails, text messages, or Internet postings) sent to a large number of recipients or posted in a large number of places

spam

2 of 3

verb

spammed; spamming

transitive verb

: to send or post spam to

spammed customers with discount offers

spamming a message board

intransitive verb

: to send or post spam

The company was accused of spamming via text messages.

spammer noun

Spam

3 of 3

trademark

—used for a canned meat product

Examples of spam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Less than 10% of email traffic is now genuine, the rest is at best annoying spam and at worst much more dangerous than that. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025

However, not all carriers support this, and some may block the feature altogether to prevent spam or limit abuse. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2025

Verb

Using your regular email can expose it to spam or further data collection. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 May 2025

Others are encouraging non-government employees to spam the OPM email with bogus lists. —Will McCurdy, PCMAG, 23 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from a skit on the British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus in which chanting of the word Spam overrides the other dialogue

First Known Use

Noun

1990, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1994, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing spam

• anti-spam
• spam filter

Rhymes for spam

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

Kids Definition

spam

1 of 2 noun

ˈspam 

: unsolicited usually commercial email sent to a large number of addresses

spam

2 of 2 verb

: to send spam to

spammer noun