cramming

present participle of cram
1
as in squeezing
to fit (people or things) into a tight space tried to cram one more book into the backpack

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2
3
as in gorging
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

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4
as in inhaling
to swallow or eat greedily the thoughtless guest crammed a dinner that had taken hours to prepare

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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 cramming The common thread among them is many, many hours spent cramming parenting and their careers into each day. Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Kim was a relatively normal teenager who, while cramming for tests and navigating crushes, also had to save the world from any villain who wished to do harm. Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026 The Pro Max is the one that gets the attention, cramming near-power-bank levels of capacity into a fairly standard-looking smartphone. New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026 The roommates’ incompatible goals and perennial brokeness lead to side-splitting conflicts, with Shelby cramming for her GED while Kaitlin’s greatest ambition is to throw an epic island party. Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026 The network had a two-way smuggling route between Algeria and Spain, transporting drugs to the African nation and cramming boats with migrants for the return trip to Spanish coastal towns, Spain’s Civil Guard said. ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026 The situation is also symptomatic of broader strains on the country's higher education system, where grossly limited spots leave millions cramming for months, or even years, and high-stakes entrance exams leave many of them burnt out and in debt. Sakshi Dayal, USA Today, 22 July 2026 An early 2022 op-ed in the University of Calgary’s student newspaper described the idea as the antithesis of hustle culture, one that finds satisfaction in mundane tasks rather than cramming productivity into every waking moment. Allison Palmer july 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026 This is an impressive chip, cramming nearly 100 billion transistors onto a piece of silicon roughly the size of a fingernail. John Koetsier, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cramming
Verb
  • Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries are squeezing diesel supplies.
    Jeffrey Collins, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The antitrust balloon-squeezing phenomenon is well documented.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • As wedding content began filling her social media feeds after the engagement, one idea in particular caught her attention.
    Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026
  • When the skies cleared Sunday, hundreds arrived for the festival’s final day, filling much of the grounds.
    J.M. Banks, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • There will be title defenses from Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo, who are the Michael Jordan and Diana Taurasi of gorging sausages.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 4 July 2026
  • But gorging on pollen alone wasn’t enough to lengthen a life.
    Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 June 2026
Verb
  • The process would be similar to inhaling allergy medicine via a nasal spray.
    Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026
  • And in the summer working, caring for the garden, cultivating my plants, my food, inhaling the sun, seeing my skin become brown just as the flowers are also growing their colours, and my beloved garden plants are delivering their brilliant food.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Electronic warfare can disrupt some unmanned systems, but autonomous drones, resistant communications links and other technologies can make jamming less reliable.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Its PreciSense LiDAR navigation quickly maps your layout to create efficient cleaning routes, while its dual anti-tangle system keeps pet hair and fibers from jamming the brushes.
    Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Nothing brings this home like dressing for an event or an occasion or packing for a trip.
    Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Multi-fuel and flat-packing stoves are becoming a massive trend for backcountry adventurers who want to ditch standard gas canisters.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Just like today’s tentacled ocean dwellers, the Mesozoic squid ancestor likely had no problem devouring its relatives—or even members of its own species.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Davis loved to read and collect books, devouring anything from John Updike and Margaret Atwood, among other authors, a passion that necessitated having bookshelves in every room of his home.
    Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • And his big-game jitters were reflected in the first inning of what was eventually a 1-0 loss, when his shaky command led to him loading the bases with two outs.
    Jesús Cano, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Now, Stanford was loading the box most of Friday night in an attempt to eliminate the run game.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Cramming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cramming. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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