cramcram /kræm/ ●○○ verb (past tense and past participle crammed, present participle cramming) 
Jill crammed her clothes into the bag. A lot of information has been crammed into this book.► see thesaurus at fill2[intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a lot of people cram into a place or vehicle, they go into it so it is then fullcram in/into We all crammed in and Pete started the car. Thirty-six thousand spectators crammed into the stadium to see the game.3[transitive] especially American English if a lot of people cram a place, they fill it: Thousands of people crammed the mall Sunday.4[intransitive] to prepare yourself for an examination by learning a lot of information quickly SYN swot British English: She’s been cramming hard all week.cram for I have to cram for my chemistry test tomorrow.► see thesaurus at studycram something ↔ in (also cram something into something) phrasal verb to do a lot of activities in a short period of time SYN pack in: We crammed in as much sightseeing as possible during our stay in New York.
WORD ORIGINcram
Origin:
Old English crammianVERB TABLE
cram
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | cram |
| he, she, it | crams | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | crammed |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have crammed |
| he, she, it | has crammed | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had crammed |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will cram |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have crammed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am cramming |
| he, she, it | is cramming | |
| you, we, they | are cramming | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was cramming |
| you, we, they | were cramming | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been cramming |
| he, she, it | has been cramming | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been cramming |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be cramming |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been cramming |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Everyone's cramming for their final exams.
- I've procrastinated all semester, so I have a lot of cramming to do.
- You'll really have to cram if you want to pass the test.
- His Paris-based years were crammed with travel, museum visits, contacts with major figures in the arts and formative aesthetic experiences.
- Other times they crammed into a vacant classroom.
- Silver cups - golfing trophies - crammed the mantelpiece over a huge arched brick fireplace.
THESAURUS
to put enough of something into a container to make it full: · Jenny filled the kettle and put it on to boil.· Party balloons can be filled with helium.
to fill something completely – used especially about putting petrol in the tank of a car: · I need to fill up the car.· The waiter filled up everyone’s glasses.· If the oil tank is less than half full, tell them to fill it up.
to fill a vehicle with goods, furniture etc: · Two men were loading a truck with boxes of melons.
to quickly fill something such as a bag or pocket by pushing things into it tightly: · She hurriedly stuffed some things into an overnight bag and left.
to fill a container again, after what was in it has been used: · I’m just going to refill this bottle from the tap.
British English, top off American English to fill a glass or cup that still has some liquid in it: · Can I top up your glass of wine?
formal to make something full again, especially with a supply of something such as water or food: · The lake is fed by springs that are eternally replenished by the rain.
verb [intransitive, transitive] to learn about a subject at school, university etc: · If you study hard, you’ll get a good job.· He studied law at Harvard University.
verb [transitive] to study a subject that you have chosen at school, college etc: · What classes are you taking next semester?· In my final year, I decided to take English and economics.
verb [transitive] British English informal to study a particular subject at school or university: · I can’t decide whether to do German or Spanish next year.· Did you do computing at school?
phrasal verb American English to study something as your main subject at a college or university: · Diane majored in psychology at the University of Washington.
verb [intransitive] British English to study to prepare for an examination: · It’s best to start revising early.· He’s revising for his final exams.
verb [intransitive] informal to study very hard and try to learn a lot of information just before an examination: · Everyone’s cramming for their final exams.
to study something in a very detailed way, especially in order to discover new information about it: · He does research at Oxford University.· I’m doing research into second language learning.· It’s difficult to do research on humans.
Longman Language Activatorto make something full to put enough of something into a container to make it full: · Mix the spinach and cheese and use it to fill the pasta shells.fill something with something: · We stood at the counter, filling our bowls with salad.· He had a notebook that he had filled with stories and poems.
to fill a container that already has a small amount of something in it: · The waiter filled up everyone's glasses.fill something up with something: · If the oil tank is less than half full, tell them to fill it up.fill up something with something: · I filled up the sandbox with some more sand.
to quickly fill something such as a bag or pocket by pushing things into it tightly: stuff something into something: · She hurriedly stuffed some things into an overnight bag and left.stuff something with something: · We had to stuff envelopes with letters and information packs.
to push too many things into a container or space, so that they are all pressed together: cram/jam something into something: · I crammed all my clothes into the suitcase and called a taxi.· Too many houses are crammed into too small an area.· Fifty-five children were jammed into a classroom designed to hold thirty.
also load up to fill a vehicle with goods, furniture etc: · Loading the van was hard work.· This giant machine can load up a 10-ton truck every few minutes.load something into something: · A woman was loading groceries into her car.load something with something: · Two men were loading up a truck with boxes of melons.
to study to prepare for an examination to learn the information you need to prepare yourself for a test or examination: · I'm going to spend the afternoon studying my notes.· The test is supposed to be hard - aren't you going to study at all?study for: · He studied for the bar exam all year, and he still didn't pass.· I can't go to the movie tonight - I have a big test to study for.
British to read books, notes etc in order to prepare for an examination that you are going to take: · Ahmed's upstairs, revising.· What are you revising tonight?revise for: · The library was full of students revising for the final exams.
informal to study very hard just before an examination, especially because you do not know enough: · You'll really have to cram if you want to pass the test.cram for: · Everyone's cramming for their final exams.
British informal to study for an examination: · He's sure to pass - he's been swotting away for months.swot for: · I was too busy swotting for my exams to be much interested in girls.
informal to study a particular subject to prepare for a test or examination: · I've been boning up on my Latin for the entrance exam.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Ted’s workshop was crammed full of old engines.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
1[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to force something into a small spacecram something into/onto etc something Ted’s workshop was crammed full of old engines.· Beyond a flint wall was a small graveyard, the gravestones crammed in as though the corpses had been buried standing up.· A broken toaster and sev-eral ripped window shades were crammed in near a cracked welding gun and a rotting fence post.· On a big occasion 600 or so are crammed in.
NOUN· The amount of people crammed into offices out here, they should have built longer trains.· About 120 people were crammed on the truck as it headed to the city of Waterloo, 20 miles north of Freetown.· With 64,000 people crammed into every square mile, the most utterly bizarre happenings raise barely a shrug of the shoulders.· The 40,000 people crammed on to its terraces on May 9 had come to watch an execution.
VERB· The Prussian infantryman clapped his hands to his sword-whipped face, trying to cram his eyes back into their sockets.· But did anybody think they were going to try to cram all seven games into the first night?· Don't try to cram too much hair around each roller.· You can not blame him for trying to cram as much into 90 minutes as he possibly can.
Jill crammed her clothes into the bag. A lot of information has been crammed into this book.► see thesaurus at fill2[intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a lot of people cram into a place or vehicle, they go into it so it is then fullcram in/into We all crammed in and Pete started the car. Thirty-six thousand spectators crammed into the stadium to see the game.3[transitive] especially American English if a lot of people cram a place, they fill it: Thousands of people crammed the mall Sunday.4[intransitive] to prepare yourself for an examination by learning a lot of information quickly SYN swot British English: She’s been cramming hard all week.cram for I have to cram for my chemistry test tomorrow.► see thesaurus at studycram something ↔ in (also cram something into something) phrasal verb to do a lot of activities in a short period of time SYN pack in: We crammed in as much sightseeing as possible during our stay in New York.