Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense crams, present participle cramming, past tense, past participle crammed
1. verb
If you cram things or people into a container or place, you put them into it, although there is hardly enough room for them.
While nobody was looking, she squashed her school hat and crammed it into a wastebasket. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
I crammed my bag full of swimsuits and T-shirts and headed for the coast. [V n + full of]
She crammed her mouth with caviar. [VERB noun + with]
Synonyms: pack, fill, stuff More Synonyms of cram
2. verb
If people craminto a place or vehicle or cram a place or vehicle, so many of them enter it at one time that it is completely full.
We crammed into my car and set off. [VERB preposition]
Friends and admirers crammed the chapel at the small Los Angeles cemetery where Monroeis buried. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: squeeze, press, crowd, pack More Synonyms of cram
3. verb
If you cram a hat on, you put it on, especially in a hurry.
I crammed on my cap again, helped the Duke up and tried to dust him off. [V n with on]
[Also V n on n]
4. verb
If you are cramming for an examination, you are learning as much as possible in a short time just before you take the examination.
She was cramming for her Economics exam. [VERB + for]
Synonyms: study, revise, swot [informal], bone up [informal] More Synonyms of cram
cramminguncountable noun
It would take two or three months of cramming to prepare for Vermont's bar exam.
More Synonyms of cram
cram in British English
(kræm)
verbWord forms: crams, cramming or crammed
1. (transitive)
to force (people, material, etc) into (a room, container, etc) with more than it can hold; stuff
2.
to eat or cause to eat more than necessary
3. informal
to study or cause to study (facts, etc), esp for an examination, by hastily memorizing
noun
4.
the act or condition of cramming
5.
a crush
Word origin
Old English crammian; related to Old Norse kremja to press
Cram in British English
(kræm)
noun
Steve. born 1960, English middle-distance runner: European 1500 m champion (1981, 1986); world 1500 m champion (1983)
Cram in American English
(kræm)
Ralph Adams1863-1942; U.S. architect & writer
cram in American English
(kræm)
verb transitiveWord forms: crammed or ˈcramming
1.
to fill (a space) beyond normal capacity by pressing or squeezing; pack full or too full
2.
to stuff; force
to cram papers into a drawer
3.
to feed to excess; stuff with food
4.
to prepare (a student) or review (a subject) for an examination in a hurried, intensive way
verb intransitive
5.
to eat too much or too quickly
6.
to study or review a subject in a hurried, intensive way, as in preparation for an examination
noun
7.
a crowded condition; crush
8.
the act of cramming for an examination
Derived forms
crammer (ˈcrammer)
noun
Word origin
ME crammen < OE crammian, to squeeze in, stuff; akin to MHG krammen, grip with claws < IE *grem-, to press, compress (> L gremium, lap, bosom) < base *ger-, to hold, seize
Examples of 'cram' in a sentence
cram
On each floor the rooms are crammed with young artists wearing headphones and drawing on screens.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
These little shops are a feast for the eyes and crammed full of unusual delights.
The Sun (2016)
The manager is already crammed behind his reception desk.
Hyland, Paul Indian Balm - Travels in the Southern Subcontinent (1994)
The second explanation is that she needed time to cram for the exam.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The streets were crammed with people walking on hot coals or lying on nails.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Two more were crammed together and crudely hidden.
The Sun (2009)
There were two stalls in particular that were crammed full of goodies.
The Sun (2008)
The room is so crammed that people are all along the back and spilling into the hallway.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Learning by rote and cramming for exams is no reflection of life after education.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Perhaps with football crammed in the space between reproductive genes.
The Sun (2009)
Passengers face being packed in as tight as four people crammed in a phone box.
The Sun (2016)
They are housed in homes where three or four families live crammed together.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The frame is crammed full of layers of chaos.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
But up to one in four students are said to use it when cramming for exams.
The Sun (2016)
Already the town was crammed full of people and animals.
Kerr, Katharine A Time of War (1993)
These animals are bred for their fur and kept crammed together in tiny cages.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It is cram full of essential information for the careful shopper.
Hanssen, Maurice & Marsden, Jill E For Additives (1987)
The rooms are crammed with people.
Christianity Today (2000)
The 350 or so fans crammed into a sweaty club adored it.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The historical collection that once filled about 20 rooms is now crammed into barely two.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Thousands of fans crammed into an auditorium to sing Happy Birthday.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
This space, crammed with knowledge and utterly idiosyncratic, is the real mirror to him.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
This space could also be crammed with wall-to-wall cupboards, reducing the need for kitchen storage in the main room to a minimum.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I also try to cram as many details of buildings as I can into my work.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
cram
British English: cram /kræm/ VERB
If you cram things or people into a place, or if they cram it, there are so many of them in it at one time that it is completely full.
She crammed the books into the bookcase.
We crammed into my car, and set off.
American English: cram
Arabic: يَحْشو
Brazilian Portuguese: encher
Chinese: 填满
Croatian: natrpati
Czech: natěsnat (se)
Danish: proppe
Dutch: volproppen
European Spanish: atiborrar
Finnish: ahtautua
French: s’entasser
German: vollstopfen
Greek: στριμώχνομαι
Italian: ammassare
Japanese: 詰め込む
Korean: 과식하다
Norwegian: proppe
Polish: tłoczyć się
European Portuguese: encher
Romanian: a îngrămădi
Russian: впихивать
Latin American Spanish: embutir
Swedish: proppa full
Thai: ยัด อัดเต็ม
Turkish: tıka basa doldurmak
Ukrainian: набивати
Vietnamese: ních đầy
Chinese translation of 'cram'
cram
(kræm)
vt
to cram sth into sth将(將)某物塞入某物 (jiāng mǒuwù sāirù mǒuwù)
to cram sb into sth将(將)某人挤(擠)入某物 (jiāng mǒurén jǐrù mǒuwù)
(= fill)[place]挤(擠)满(滿) (jǐmǎn)
vi
to cram into sth[building, vehicle]挤(擠)进(進)某处(處) (jǐjìn mǒuchù)
(for exam) 临(臨)时(時)抱佛脚(腳) (línshí bào fójiǎo)
to cram sth with or full of sth用某物将(將)某物塞得满(滿)满(滿)的 (yòng mǒuwù jiāng mǒuwù sāi de mǎnmǎn de)
1 (verb)
Definition
to force (more people or things) into (a place) than it can hold
She pulled off her school hat and crammed it into a wastebasket.
Synonyms
stuff
His trousers were stuffed inside the tops of his boots.
force
jam
He jammed his hands into his pockets.
ram
He rammed the key into the lock and kicked the front door open.
shove
He shoved a cloth into my hand.
compress
Poor posture can compress the body's organs.
compact
The soil settles and is compacted by the winter rain.
2 (verb)
Definition
to force (more people or things) into (a place) than it can hold
She crammed her mouth with nuts.
Synonyms
pack
All her possessions were packed into the back of her car.
Thousands of people packed into the arena.
fill
Thousands of people filled the streets.
stuff
wallets stuffed with dollars
3 (verb)
Definition
to force (more people or things) into (a place) than it can hold
We crammed into my car and set off.
Synonyms
squeeze
Somehow they managed to squeeze into the tight space.
press
The grapes are hand-picked and pressed.
crowd
A group of journalists were crowded into a minibus.
Hundreds of people crowded into the building.
pack
crush
Their vehicle was crushed by an army tank.
pack in
fill to overflowing
overfill
overcrowd
4 (verb)
Definition
to study hard just before an examination
She was cramming hard for her exam.
Synonyms
study
The rehearsals make it difficult for her to study for her law exams.
revise
I have to revise maths tonight.
swot (informal)
They swotted hard for their exams.
bone up (informal)
grind
con
swot up
mug up (slang)
5 (verb)
Definition
to eat or feed to excess
Synonyms
overeat
Adequate fibre intake also helps you to stop snacking and overeating.
gorge
I could spend all day gorging on chocolate.
glut
The pond was glutted with fish.
guzzle
She had been guzzling lemonade all evening.
satiate
There is enough fruit to satiate several children.
pig out (slang)
overfeed
gormandize
put or pack away
Additional synonyms
in the sense of compact
The soil settles and is compacted by the winter rain.
Synonyms
pack closely,
stuff,
cram,
compress,
condense,
tamp
in the sense of compress
Definition
to squeeze together
Poor posture can compress the body's organs.
Synonyms
squeeze,
crush,
squash,
constrict,
press,
crowd,
wedge,
cram
in the sense of crowd
Definition
to press together into a confined space
A group of journalists were crowded into a minibus.Hundreds of people crowded into the building.