1
as in squeezing
to fit (people or things) into a tight space
tried to cram one more book into the backpack
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in filling
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 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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cramming
The plush red seats of the Concertgebouw's main auditorium are occupied by students cramming for upcoming exams and finishing dissertations as classical music fills the hall.
—
ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Which is exactly why Paradise’s increasingly disruptive flirtations with time travel feel frustrating on a structural level, like the show is cramming another puzzle box inside the puzzle box.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
Buchanan, unaware of the extent of Mayne’s star power, picked up the roughly 6-foot-4 Pritzker Prize-winner from the airport, cramming him into her Nissan Sentra.
—Trevor Bach, Dallas Morning News, 11 Mar. 2026
Cars registered to the UAE were not being allowed over the border, which led to Heliövaara moving his two children’s car seats as the desert sun beat down, as well as the five people plus six bags eventually cramming into one car.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Instead of cramming huge amounts of fiber into one meal, fiberlayering emphasizes distributing fiber steadily across the day and pulling it from a wide range of whole foods.
—Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 5 Mar. 2026
Instead of cramming more expensive computers into the cars themselves, the team led by postdoctoral researcher Kun Woo Cho decided to put the brains into the road.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
But the low-income workers who make pizzas and hotel-room beds for the tourist-industrial complex — the ones who live by cramming two or three people into a one-bedroom rental?
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2026
Backpacks are great for cramming a lot into a small space while staying organized and lightweight.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Which is exactly why Paradise’s increasingly disruptive flirtations with time travel feel frustrating on a structural level, like the show is cramming another puzzle box inside the puzzle box.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
Buchanan, unaware of the extent of Mayne’s star power, picked up the roughly 6-foot-4 Pritzker Prize-winner from the airport, cramming him into her Nissan Sentra.
—Trevor Bach, Dallas Morning News, 11 Mar. 2026
Cars registered to the UAE were not being allowed over the border, which led to Heliövaara moving his two children’s car seats as the desert sun beat down, as well as the five people plus six bags eventually cramming into one car.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Instead of cramming huge amounts of fiber into one meal, fiberlayering emphasizes distributing fiber steadily across the day and pulling it from a wide range of whole foods.
—Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 5 Mar. 2026
Instead of cramming more expensive computers into the cars themselves, the team led by postdoctoral researcher Kun Woo Cho decided to put the brains into the road.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
But the low-income workers who make pizzas and hotel-room beds for the tourist-industrial complex — the ones who live by cramming two or three people into a one-bedroom rental?
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2026
Backpacks are great for cramming a lot into a small space while staying organized and lightweight.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cramming
Verb
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Serve with garlic toasts and lemon wedges for squeezing over if desired.—
Rebecca Firkser,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
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Photos and video show the explorers squeezing through jagged crevices deep inside the karsts, using flashlights to guide them further along an otherwise pitch-black maze of rocky burrows.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tune Into the Rhythm of Filipino Festivals After a nearly three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, festivals across the Philippines are once again taking the stage, filling up the events calendar with vivacious celebrations of local culture and tradition.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Mar. 2026
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Now the pair are filling the former Slab space with trout that swims in chive beurre blanc; burgers crowned with a range of French cheeses; and expertly made baguettes that receive smears of butter d’Isigny.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And all those who find the Dodgers’ gorging offensive also tend to overlook that their spending provides real benefits as well.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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Of all the schemes that humans have devised to keep sea lions from gorging on the salmon of the Columbia River basin, none has worked for long.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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When a degraded grassland returns to health, the ground heaves up, as if inhaling with relief.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
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Humans are evolutionarily designed for hunting and gathering — not for lifting 50-pound boxes for eight hours straight or inhaling toxic dust in an industrial sanding booth.—
Vivek Ranadive,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Residents, saying they were surprised by the zoning, began jamming township meetings beginning in May 2023.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Russia has invested in its own military technology, developing unmanned vehicles and signal-jamming systems that can strike targets deep behind Ukrainian lines.—
Olivier Kempf,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Bill Clinton was in the White House, Titanic was packing movie theaters and a startup with a funny name, Google, was just launching.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Think mix-and-match pieces that work across multiple settings rather than packing a different outfit for every occasion.—
Lauren Schuster,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rents had finally stopped devouring their paychecks, wages were rising faster than their housing costs, and a generation that had long trailed older Americans in spending growth was starting to actually open its wallet — on restaurants, new clothes, electronics, even travel.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
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The canines ripped through tough hides, devouring high-fat tissue and leaving carcasses with soft meat on the bone—a perfect meal for ravens who seemed to follow the kill.—
Nidhi Sharma,
Popular Science,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Earlier, officers were seen loading several people into a vehicle along the same stretch of street.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
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On Wednesday, a jury in California determined that Meta and YouTube were responsible for loading their social media platforms with addictive features that harmed the mental health of a minor.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cramming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cramming. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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