jam
55
2.7
- noun
- /dʒæm/
- Within minutes, they got stuck in a traffic jam on the coastal road.
- traffic jam
- phantom traffic jam
- accidents and jams
Examples
-
I'm in a traffic jam here.
-
Well, we could use a hand getting out of this traffic jam.
-
Traffic jam or not, do the best you can.
-
Then, all of a sudden, we come to a traffic jam.
-
Traffic jams will be a thing of the past.
-
It was the worst traffic jam...
-
The Lincoln has entered an immense traffic jam, and brake lights flare in the evening air.
Fiction book (1996) -
The dominant impression of the traveler to Israel today is traffic jams, particularly along the coast.
Academic text (1998) -
We were stuck in a jam for over an hour, unable to move in any direction.
-
During rush hour, the city always experiences a major jam on the main highway.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Many people or things are close together in one place
42
3.4
Too many people or vehicles in one place that slow movement
40
1.0
Many cars are stuck and move very slowly on a road
15
3.4
A large, tightly packed group of people in one place
10
5.1
A tightly packed group of people in a small space
8
2.1
A large number of people in a small place that makes it feel cramped
2
3.1
Too many people in one place, making it uncomfortable and hard to move
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- Informal
10
3.9
A meeting of musicians who make up music and play together without planning
3
1.0
A sweet spread people make from strawberries and sugar to put on bread or pastries
How Crowded
55
2.7
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Etymology
Jam meaning a crowded or blocked place comes from the same idea of things being pressed together or stuck in a 'tight' space. So a traffic or crowd 'jam' is when people or cars are so close they cannot move.