: unsolicited usually commercial messages (such as emails, text messages, or Internet postings) sent to a large number of recipients or posted in a large number of places
spammed; spamming
: to send or post spam to
spammed customers with discount offers
spamming a message board
: to send or post spam
The company was accused of spamming via text messages.
spammer
noun
—used for a canned meat product
Examples of spam in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lauren Goode, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
Over time, old conversations, marketing texts, spam and other junk piles up.
—Fox News, 14 Nov. 2023
The second big change to Gmail starting in 2024 concerns something everyone hates, namely spam.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
The other measure mentioned in the blog post is an option to silence unknown callers (first announced in June), which WhatsApp says prevents spam disturbances and also shuts down a vector for complex cybersecurity attacks.
—Chris Welch, The Verge, 8 Nov. 2023
Critics say that open source AI models carry potential risks, such as misuse in synthetic biology or in generating spam or disinformation.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 6 Nov. 2023
In a statement published shortly after Fortune reported the news of the $1 plan, X ‘s support account confirmed the details and described the move as a way to curb the prevalence of bots and spam on the platform, rather than a money-making endeavor.
—Kylie Robison, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2023
Over the ensuing months, Musk tried to back out of the deal, citing concerns about spam accounts; Twitter then sued and accused Musk of wanting to terminate the deal because of the stock downturn.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2023
Studies have shown that hate speech and spam have shot up since Musk's takeover.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2023
Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023
Amateur sleuths took to available satellite imagery and footage of the arcing rockets to spam out lengthy threads detailing why or why not one side was responsible based on factors like whether the impact crater from the blast could or could not be the size seen in the available footage.
—Brian Merchant, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Data scraping is when third parties extract large amounts of information from websites—often to create databases that are then used to generate sales leads, collect insights about consumers or to spam users.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 19 July 2023
Musk’s comment also confirmed that the payouts are only for views generated by accounts that have verified handles, claiming that otherwise, bots would simply spam the system, despite reports of bot and spam accounts that have verified accounts.
—Richard Lawler, The Verge, 11 Aug. 2023
But while Twilio had disabled the numbers used to spam Kansas after receiving complaints, the company, like the major phone carriers, doesn’t make a habit of pre-screening texts before they’re sent out.
—Kevin Collier, NBC News, 13 Sep. 2022
Is the reason my email inbox says 1967 unread emails (most of them spam, but probably some important ones hidden in there) because of ADHD or autism?
—Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2023
In early August, LGBTQ+ Twitch streamers began sharing clips of a growing and frightening phenomenon: hate raids, in which mass bot accounts would spam offensive speech and threats to active streamers in their chats.
—Samantha Puc, refinery29.com, 7 Dec. 2021
Don’t spam your engine with random words.
—Celeste Polanco, Essence, 19 Aug. 2021
See More
Noun
These were the days of clunky hashtags and @ symbols, starry-eyed visionary founders, and inconsequential spam.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
Over time, old conversations, marketing texts, spam and other junk piles up.
—Fox News, 14 Nov. 2023
The second big change to Gmail starting in 2024 concerns something everyone hates, namely spam.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
The other measure mentioned in the blog post is an option to silence unknown callers (first announced in June), which WhatsApp says prevents spam disturbances and also shuts down a vector for complex cybersecurity attacks.
—Chris Welch, The Verge, 8 Nov. 2023
Critics say that open source AI models carry potential risks, such as misuse in synthetic biology or in generating spam or disinformation.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 6 Nov. 2023
In a statement published shortly after Fortune reported the news of the $1 plan, X ‘s support account confirmed the details and described the move as a way to curb the prevalence of bots and spam on the platform, rather than a money-making endeavor.
—Kylie Robison, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2023
Over the ensuing months, Musk tried to back out of the deal, citing concerns about spam accounts; Twitter then sued and accused Musk of wanting to terminate the deal because of the stock downturn.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2023
Studies have shown that hate speech and spam have shot up since Musk's takeover.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2023
Verb
Thankfully, Swifties have at least a few extra days to spam her onto the top of their personal charts.
—Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023
Amateur sleuths took to available satellite imagery and footage of the arcing rockets to spam out lengthy threads detailing why or why not one side was responsible based on factors like whether the impact crater from the blast could or could not be the size seen in the available footage.
—Brian Merchant, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Data scraping is when third parties extract large amounts of information from websites—often to create databases that are then used to generate sales leads, collect insights about consumers or to spam users.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 19 July 2023
Musk’s comment also confirmed that the payouts are only for views generated by accounts that have verified handles, claiming that otherwise, bots would simply spam the system, despite reports of bot and spam accounts that have verified accounts.
—Richard Lawler, The Verge, 11 Aug. 2023
But while Twilio had disabled the numbers used to spam Kansas after receiving complaints, the company, like the major phone carriers, doesn’t make a habit of pre-screening texts before they’re sent out.
—Kevin Collier, NBC News, 13 Sep. 2022
Is the reason my email inbox says 1967 unread emails (most of them spam, but probably some important ones hidden in there) because of ADHD or autism?
—Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2023
In early August, LGBTQ+ Twitch streamers began sharing clips of a growing and frightening phenomenon: hate raids, in which mass bot accounts would spam offensive speech and threats to active streamers in their chats.
—Samantha Puc, refinery29.com, 7 Dec. 2021
Don’t spam your engine with random words.
—Celeste Polanco, Essence, 19 Aug. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
from a skit on the British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus in which chanting of the word Spam overrides the other dialogue
First Known Use
Noun
1990, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1994, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Phrases Containing spam
Dictionary Entries Near spam
Cite this Entry
“Spam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spam. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
spam
1 of 2 noun
: unsolicited usually commercial e-mail sent to a large number of addresses
spam
2 of 2 verb
: to send spam to
spammer
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on spam
Nglish: Translation of spam for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of spam for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about spam
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share