I. ham 1 /hæm/ BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1: Language: Old English ; Origin: hamm ]
[ Sense 2: Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: Perhaps from amateur ]
[ Sense 3: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: ham-fatter 'bad actor' (19-20 centuries) , from the song 'The Ham-fat Man'. ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] the upper part of a pig’s leg, or the meat from this that has been preserved with salt or smoke ⇨ gammon :
a ham sandwich
a seven-pound ham
2 . [countable] someone who receives and sends radio messages for fun rather than as their job
3 . [countable] informal an actor who performs with too much false emotion
II. ham 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle hammed , present participle hamming )
ham it up informal to perform with too much false emotion when acting