Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

jam

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of jam

1 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.
Synonyms of jam

backup, bottleneck, jam-up, logjam, snarl, tie-up
Words Related to jam

tangle

gridlock, lock

congestion, traffic

crawl, delay, slowdown, stoppage
2 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.
Synonyms of jam

bind, catch-22, corner, dilemma, fix, hole, impasse, mire, pickle, predicament, quagmire, spot
Words Related to jam

difficulty, node

hot water, soup

pinch, plight, quandary, scrape, trouble

deadlock, halt, logjam, stalemate, standstill

clutch, crisis, crossroad, emergency, exigency, juncture, strait
Phrases Synonymous with jam

kettle of fish

jam

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of jam

1 to fit (people or things) into a tight space
  • Tom jammed his clothes into the already bulging hamper.
Synonyms of jam

cram, crowd, crush, ram, sandwich, shoehorn, squeeze, stuff, wedge
Words Related to jam

fill, heap, jam-pack, load, pack
2 to prevent passage through by filling with something
  • Crumpled papers jammed the copier.
Synonyms of jam

block, choke, clog, clot, congest, dam, gum (up), obstruct, occlude, plug (up), stop (up), stuff
Words Related to jam

bung, cork, stopper, stopple

fill, gridlock, pack

fur, silt

flood, glut, inundate, overwhelm, swamp
Near Antonyms of jam

excavate, hollow (out), scoop (out)

empty, lighten
Antonyms of jam

clear, free, open (up), unblock, unclog, unplug, unstop
3 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.
Synonyms of jam

brim, charge, cram, fill, heap, jam-pack, load, pack, stuff
Words Related to jam

drench, flood, glut, swamp

bloat, bulk

crowd, crush, mat, press, ram, shove, squash, squeeze

refill, refresh, reload, repack, replenish

overcharge, overfill, overflow, saturate

honeycomb, penetrate
Near Antonyms of jam

lighten

deplete, drain, eliminate, exhaust

bleed, draw (off)

clean, flush, purge, scour, sweep
Antonyms of jam

clear, empty, evacuate, vacate, void
4 to force one's way
  • Several more people jammed into the bus even though there was hardly room to stand.
Synonyms of jam

bore, bull, bulldoze, crash, elbow, jostle, muscle, press, push, shoulder, squeeze
Words Related to jam

ram, shove, thrust

Learn More about jam

  1. See words that rhyme with jam Dictionary: Definition of jam Spanish Central: Translation of jam Nglish: Translation of jam for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of jam for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about jam

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up jam? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games