cram
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To press, force, or drive, particularly in filling, or in thrusting one thing into another.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kramIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɹæm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To press, force, or drive, particularly in filling, or in thrusting one thing into another; to stuff; to fill to superfluity.
transitive
To fill with food to satiety; to stuff.
transitive
To put hastily through an extensive course of memorizing or study, as in preparation for an examination.
intransitive
To eat greedily, and to satiety; to stuff oneself.
Study intensively, as before an exam
intransitive
To study hard; to swot.
noun
The act of cramming (forcing or stuffing something).
A small friendship book with limited space for people to enter their information.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To put hastily through an extensive course of memorizing or study, as in preparation for an examination.
Used this way, cram is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to press or force or or drive
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.