JAM


Meaning of JAM in English

I. ˈjam ˌsession BrE AmE ( also jam ) noun [countable]

an occasion when ↑ jazz or ↑ rock musicians play music together in an informal way

II. jam 1 S3 /dʒæm/ BrE AmE noun

1 . FOOD [uncountable and countable] a thick sweet substance made from boiled fruit and sugar, eaten especially on bread ⇨ jelly :

strawberry jam

a jam sandwich

jam jars

2 . CARS/PEOPLE [countable] a situation in which it is difficult or impossible to move because there are so many cars or people:

Sorry we’re late. We got stuck in a traffic jam.

3 . MACHINE [countable] a situation in which a machine does not work because something is stopping a part from moving:

It caused a jam in the printer.

4 . DIFFICULT SITUATION [countable usually singular] informal a difficult situation

(be/get) in/out of/into a jam

We became friends after he helped me out of a jam.

5 . MUSIC [countable]

a) a ↑ jam session

b) a song or piece of music, especially one by a ↑ rap or ↑ rock group

6 . kick out the jams American English informal to play ↑ rock music loudly and with a lot of energy or emotion:

Make no mistake – these guys know how to kick out the jams.

7 . jam tomorrow British English informal good things someone promises you, which never happen:

There is an element of ‘jam tomorrow’ about some of the government’s policies.

III. jam 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle jammed , present participle jamming )

[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: Perhaps copying the action ]

1 . PUSH HARD [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to push something somewhere using a lot of force, until it can move no further:

He jammed his foot on the accelerator and the car sped off.

A chair had been jammed up against the door.

2 . MACHINE [intransitive and transitive] ( also jam up ) if a moving part of something jams, or if you jam it, it no longer works properly because something is preventing it from moving:

The front roller has jammed on the photocopier.

3 . BLOCK [intransitive and transitive] ( also jam up ) if a lot of people or vehicles jam a place, they fill it so that it is difficult to move SYN cram :

Crowds jammed the entrance to the stadium.

jam into

They all jammed into the car.

⇨ ↑ jammed (2)

4 . MUSIC [intransitive] ( also jam out ) to play music in an informal way with other people ⇨ ↑ jam session

5 . jam on the brakes to slow down a car suddenly by putting your foot down hard on the ↑ brake

6 . jam sb’s/the switchboard if telephone calls jam the switchboard of an organization, so many people are phoning the organization that it cannot deal with them all:

Viewers jammed the switchboard with complaints.

7 . RADIO [transitive] to deliberately prevent broadcasts or other electronic signals from being received, by broadcasting signals on the same ↑ wavelength

8 . somebody is jamming American English spoken used to say that someone is doing something very quickly or well

jam out phrasal verb

to dance to music

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.