JAMS Synonyms: 148 Similar and Opposite Words

jams 1 of 2

noun

Definition of jams

plural of jam

as in snarls

a crowded mass (as of cars) that impedes or blocks movement thousands of cars trying to leave the stadium's parking lot at the same time are sure to create a jam

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as in pickles

a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape the heavy rain puts us in a real jam: all of the preparations are for a garden wedding

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jams

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of jam

as in stuffs

to fit (people or things) into a tight space jammed his clothes into the already bulging hamper

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as in blocks

to prevent passage through by filling with something firefighters found the nightclub's doorways jammed with trapped patrons

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in loads

to put into (something) as much as can be held or contained the inn will jam a guest's picnic basket with an array of tempting foods

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pushes

to force one's way several more people jammed into the bus even though there was hardly room to stand

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of jams

Noun

Look North World runs game jams and a publishing program to find platform-native talent. — Ian Shepherd, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Meghan has continued to focus on her lifestyle brand As Ever, selling jarred jams, tea sets and candles. — Alli Rosenbloom, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 Northcutt jams receivers, redirects routes and has elite hip movement as well. — Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026 Historically Carvana has always found a way to get out of these kind of jams. — Yun Li, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026 But this film’s logic lies in the edit, starting and ending with a stop-start stutter motif that jars us into this world of a small Oklahoma town, where a bluegrass band jams in a restaurant parking lot. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 Satellite navigation can fail when an adversary jams GPS or China’s BeiDou system. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026 Ukuleles, music and music stands are provided free at the jams. — Ramona Sentinel, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026 Heated blueberries include those baked into breakfast foods or desserts, or made into jams or preserves. — Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 11 Aug. 2026

Verb

Keanu Reeves jams out with his band, Dogstar, at their concert at Carlswerk Victoria in Cologne, Germany on July 2. — Brendan Le Updated, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026 That crud jams up the works of your coffee maker, slows brewing down, and impacts the taste of your morning brew. — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 16 Feb. 2026 The move effectively jams the upper chamber by including the repeal in the funding package without the necessary time to reverse course, giving the Senate no option but to approve it. — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026 Traffic regularly jams the freeway into the city, and residents fight over efforts to build more homes. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025 Someone breaks in, someone jams the signal from the home’s alarm system, someone monitors police radio traffic. — Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Aug. 2025 After Dex takes her down, Weyland recovers her brain and jams it into a supercomputer. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 4 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jams

Noun

The wildly popular Instagram page was offline for a hot minute, leaving the general pop pining for videos on the myriad zany happenings in our city, from traffic snarls and celebrity shenanigans to animal encounters and fights outside the club.

— Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
The state Department of Transportation is scheduled to install temporary three-way stop signs at the intersections during a road project that’s already created mind-numbing traffic snarls and angry and confused drivers.

— Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 23 July 2026

Definition of snarls

Noun

All of these have enough body and heft to stand up to the moisture from the pickles without turning watery in an hour or two.

— Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Aug. 2026
Vegans can also get in on the fun combinations; the Big Mack is loaded with Impossible Burger, vegan mozzarella and Thousand Island dressing, pickles, white onion, iceberg lettuce and sesame seeds.

— Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of pickles

Verb

Wilson is again a dominant force on both ends of the floor, stuffs the box score with points, rebounds and blocks, and has improved every season while keeping the Aces as a perennial contender.

— Annie Costabile, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Throughout, visiting tourist Madeleine (Kristen Stewart) stuffs her face with every kind of meat, vegetable and carb while her father Phil (Woody Harrelson) is the one whose stomach miraculously swells.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026

Definition of stuffs

Verb

Webb’s infrared vision is particularly useful here because infrared light can penetrate dust that blocks much of the visible light, giving astronomers a better look at the processes taking place inside stellar nurseries.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
Seminole blocks a Lake Nona 39-yard field goal attempt and Joseph Watson IV grabs the ball and takes it to the house for the go-ahead score.

— Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of blocks

Verb

If a page loads its content dynamically or sits behind a login, a standard retrieval step never sees it.

— Vaidotas Juknys, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Turnover and the shelter’s euthanasia rates were trending down; officers’ shifts were shorter and case loads smaller.

— Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of loads

Verb

Las Vegas — Under a canopy shielding them from the desert sun that pushes temperatures to nearly 110 degrees, Las Vegas tourists rode zip lines down Fremont Street.

— Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
The Brazilian fakes a dribble with his left, and immediately pushes the ball into space with his right.

— Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of pushes

Noun

Concerns are growing that the de-facto tolling of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a domino effect for key shipping bottlenecks worldwide, creating more global inflation and effectively killing key components of international maritime law.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026
Supply-chain bottlenecks for chips and an aging electricity grid have led to price spikes.

— Matt Peterson, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of bottlenecks

Noun

Aemond, too, for that matter, while Daemon’s arrogance continues to get Team Black into all sorts of predicaments.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Rather than bridging shortfalls, both Seattle and Washington now face more difficult fiscal predicaments, Joblon said.

— Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 18 May 2026