cram 1 of 2

noun

Definition of cramnext
as in swarm
a great number of persons or things massed together battling the rush-hour cram in the subway

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

cram

2 of 2

verb

ˈkram How to pronounce cram (audio)
1
as in to squeeze
to fit (people or things) into a tight space tried to cram one more book into the backpack

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to fill
to put into (something) as much as can be held or contained crammed his mouth with candy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to stuff
to fill with food to capacity one of those eating contests in which competitors attempt to cram themselves with as many hot dogs as they can in three minutes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to devour
to swallow or eat greedily the thoughtless guest crammed a dinner that had taken hours to prepare

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 cram
Noun
Final grades are posted, and the product that emerged from last week’s late-night cram session in Topeka barely earned the Kansas Legislature a passing mark in 2026. — Matthew Kelly updated April 15, Kansas City Star, 15 Apr. 2026 Amazon plans to double its launch frequency and cram more satellites into each rocket as the company races to catch up with SpaceX’s Starlink. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026
Verb
More than half of the Gaza Strip’s total population had also crammed into a single city. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 July 2026 Parents pushed strollers with infants, as men, women and children of all ages crammed onto the street. — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for cram
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cram
  1. swarm
  2. squeeze
  3. fill
  4. stuff
  5. devour
  6. throng
  7. load
  8. pack
Noun
  • Tehran has leaned on this asymmetric approach for decades, betting that a swarm of small, hard-to-detect boats can offset its lack of larger, more advanced submarines.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 11 July 2026
  • Less than two months later a swarm of earthquakes ripped along the ridge.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 8 July 2026
Definition of swarm
Verb
  • Every new theorem ratchets one wall inward, squeezing the gap a little tighter.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 15 July 2026
  • The brain-squeezing rush of those starts is nearly indescribable.
    — Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 15 July 2026
Definition of squeeze
Verb
  • Workers in hard hats and mountains of dirt fill empty lots directly across from the new restaurants.
    — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 10 July 2026
  • The Grammy winner performed 12 shows beginning in mid-June, making history by filling one of the world's great venues a dozen times.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of fill
Verb
  • The bánh cuốn đặc biệt — a combination plate with plain steamed rice sheets, sheets stuffed with ground pork and mushroom and pieces filled with shrimp — satisfied my internet FOMO cravings.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
  • Surveillance video outside city hall showed political operatives stuffing stacks of ballots into public drop boxes.
    — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 9 July 2026
Definition of stuff
Verb
  • Political theory students still study their practical wisdom, often after devouring centuries of more speculative and theoretical texts.
    — Steven Johnson, Washington Post, 14 July 2026
  • If Spam isn’t your thing — how dare you — locals just as eagerly devour katsubi (a chicken katsu musubi), egg musubi or even, yes, hot dog musubi.
    — USA Today, USA Today, 10 July 2026
Definition of devour
Noun
  • The funeral processions began last Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran and other cities as throngs commemorated the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.
    — Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
  • Egyptian fans in the 300 level of the stadium were outnumbered but felt brave enough to taunt the throngs of Argentines behind them.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
Definition of throng
Verb
  • So when Alex Vesia struggled against the Rockies in the eighth inning and Muncy suffered a throwing error, Colorado seemed in position to score with the bases loaded and one out.
    — Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • Mets star Juan Soto walked to load the bases; Bo Bichette followed with a sacrifice fly and Carson Benge hit an RBI single.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2026
Definition of load
Verb
  • It's packed with efficacious skin care ingredients to smooth and firm mature complexions.
    — Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 6 July 2026
  • England adjusted its strategy to protect its lead, packing the front of goal.
    — Eduard Cauich, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Definition of pack

Browse Nearby Words

crakes
cram
crammed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cram.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cram. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on cram

Nglish: Translation of cram for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of bibelot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All