Jam vs. Lam — What's the Difference?
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Difference Between Jam and Lam
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Definitions
Jam
To drive or wedge forcibly into a tight position
Jammed the cork in the bottle.
Lam
To give a thorough beating to; thrash.
Jam
To activate or apply (a brake) suddenly. Often used with on
Jammed the brakes on.
Lam
To strike; wallop.
Jam
To cause to become unworkable because a part is stuck
The wrinkled paper jammed the copying machine.
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Lam
To escape, as from prison.
Jam
To cause (moving parts, for example) to lock into an unworkable position
Jammed the typewriter keys.
Lam
Flight, especially from the law
Escaped convicts on the lam.
Jam
To pack (items, for example) to excess; cram
Jammed my clothes into the suitcase.
Lam
To beat or thrash.
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Jam
To fill (a container or space) to overflowing
I jammed the suitcase with clothes. Fans jammed the hallway after the concert.
Lam
To flee or run away.
Jam
To block, congest, or clog
A drain that was jammed by debris.
Lam
(slang) flight, escape
On the lam
Jam
To crush or bruise
Jam a finger.
Lam
The twenty-third letter of the Arabic alphabet, ل. It is preceded by ك and followed by م.
Jam
(Electronics) To interfere with or prevent the clear reception of (broadcast signals) by electronic means.
Lam
To beat soundly; to thrash.
Jam
(Baseball) To throw an inside pitch to (a batter), especially to prevent the batter from hitting the ball with the thicker part of the bat.
Lam
A rapid escape (as by criminals);
The thieves made a clean getaway
After the expose he had to take it on the lam
Jam
To become wedged or stuck
The coin jammed in the slot.
Lam
Flee; take to one's heels; cut and run;
If you see this man, run!
The burglars escaped before the police showed up
Jam
To become locked or stuck in an unworkable position
The computer keyboard jammed.
Lam
Give a thrashing to; beat hard
Jam
To force one's way into or through a limited space
We all jammed into the elevator.
Jam
(Music) To participate in a jam session.
Jam
(Basketball) To make a dunk shot.
Jam
The act of jamming or the condition of being jammed.
Jam
A crush or congestion of people or things in a limited space
A traffic jam.
Jam
A trying situation.
Jam
See jam session.
Jam
A preserve made from whole fruit boiled to a pulp with sugar.
Jam
A sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar and allowed to congeal. Often spread on bread or toast or used in jam tarts.
Jam
(countable) A difficult situation.
Jam
(countable) A blockage, congestion, or immobilization.
A traffic jam caused us to miss the game's first period.
A jam of logs in a river
Jam
An informal, impromptu performance or rehearsal.
Jam
A song; a track.
Jam
An informal event where people brainstorm and collaborate on projects.
We came up with some new ideas at the game jam.
Jam
That which one particularly prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about.
Teaching is my jam.
Jam
A difficult situation for a pitcher or defending team.
The pitcher's in a jam now, having walked the bases loaded with the cleanup hitter coming to bat.
Jam
A forceful dunk.
Jam
A play during which points can be scored.
Toughie scored four points in that jam.
Jam
Any of several maneuvers requiring wedging of an extremity into a tight space.
I used a whole series of fist and foot jams in that crack.
Jam
(AU) The tree Acacia acuminata, with fruity-smelling hard timber.
Jam
Luck.
He's got more jam than Waitrose.
Jam
Balls, bollocks, courage, machismo
I don't think he has the jam.
Jam
(slang) Sexual relations or the contemplation of them.
Jam
(dated) A kind of frock for children.
Jam
To get something stuck, often (though not necessarily) in a confined space.
My foot got jammed in a gap between the rocks.
Her poor little baby toe got jammed in the door.
I jammed the top knuckle of my ring finger.
Jam
To brusquely force something into a space; to cram, to squeeze.
They temporarily stopped the gas tank leak by jamming a piece of taffy into the hole.
The rush-hour train was jammed with commuters.
Jam
To render something unable to move.
Jam
To cause congestion or blockage. Often used with "up".
A single accident can jam the roads for hours.
Jam
To block or confuse a radio or radar signal by transmitting a more-powerful signal on the same frequency.
The government jams foreign propaganda broadcasts.
The airstrike suffered minimal casualties because electronic-warfare aircraft were jamming the enemy air-defense radars.
Jam
(baseball) To throw a pitch at or near the batter's hands.
Jones was jammed by the pitch.
Jam
(basketball) To dunk.
Jam
(music) To play music (especially improvisation as a group, or an informal unrehearsed session).
Jam
To injure a finger or toe by sudden compression of the digit's tip.
When he tripped on the step he jammed his toe.
Jam
(roller derby) To attempt to score points.
Toughie jammed four times in the second period.
Jam
To bring (a vessel) so close to the wind that half her upper sails are laid aback.
Jam
To give up on a date or some other joint endeavour; to stand up, chicken out, jam out.
Jam
A kind of frock for children.
Jam
See Jamb.
Jam
A mass of people or objects crowded together; also, the pressure from a crowd; a crush; as, a jam in a street; a jam of logs in a river.
Jam
An injury caused by jamming.
Jam
A difficult situation; as, he got himself into a jam.
Jam
A preserve of fruit boiled with sugar and water; also called jelly; as, raspberry jam; currant jam; grape jam.
Jam
To press into a close or tight position; to crowd; to squeeze; to wedge in; to cram; as, rock fans jammed the theater for the concert.
The ship . . . jammed in between two rocks.
Jam
To crush or bruise; as, to jam a finger in the crack of a door.
Jam
To bring (a vessel) so close to the wind that half her upper sails are laid aback.
Jam
To block or obstruct by packing too much (people or objects) into; as, shoppers jammed the aisles during the fire sale.
Jam
To interfere with (a radio signal) by sending other signals of the same or nearby frequency; as, the Soviets jammed Radio Free Europe broadcasts for years during the cold war.
Jam
To cause to become nonfunctional by putting something in that blocks the movement of a part or parts; as, he jammed the drawer by putting in too many loose papers; he jammed the lock by trying to pick it.
Jam
To become stuck so as not to function; as, the copier jammed again.
Jam
To play an instrument in a jam session.
Jam
To crowd together; - usually used with together or in; as, fifty people jammed into a conference room designed for twenty.
Jam
Preserve of crushed fruit
Jam
Informal terms for a difficult situation;
He got into a terrible fix
He made a muddle of his marriage
Jam
A dense crowd of people
Jam
Deliberate radiation or reflection of electromagnetic energy for the purpose of disrupting enemy use of electronic devices or systems
Jam
Press tightly together or cram;
The crowd packed the auditorium
Jam
Push down forcibly;
The driver jammed the brake pedal to the floor
Jam
Crush or bruise;
Jam a toe
Jam
Interfere with or prevent the reception of signals;
Jam the Voice of America
Block the signals emitted by this station
Jam
Get stuck and immobilized;
The mechanism jammed
Jam
Crowd or pack to capacity;
The theater was jampacked
Jam
Block passage through;
Obstruct the path