yam

noun

ˈyam 

1

: the edible starchy tuberous root of various plants (genus Dioscorea of the family Dioscoreaceae) used as a staple food in tropical areas

also : a plant producing yams

2

: a moist usually orange-fleshed sweet potato

Examples of yam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Visitors help the staff dig and build a traditional imu underground with volcanic rocks, banana stumps, ti leaves and burlap sacks, and then fill the pit with mea ʻai staples like kālua pork, chicken, taro, yams and breadfruit. —Joe Yogerst, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

The company’s partners now include Sun World for pitless cherries, Mars for cacao research, Enza Zaden for vegetable breeding, and nonprofits like the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture for yam production optimization. —Time Contributors, Time, 28 Apr. 2026

And those yams aren’t bad either. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026

At Hikari, the chefs include yams and a paste made of scallops, which imbue a slight sweetness and umami to the egg dish. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

earlier iname, from Portuguese inhame & Spanish ñame, of African origin; akin to Fulani nyami to eat

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for yam

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

Kids Definition

yam

noun

ˈyam 

1

: an edible starchy root that is an important food in tropical areas

also : a plant producing yams

2

: a sweet potato with moist usually orange flesh