to jam
- verb
- /dʒæm/
- The ballot scanner at Tingley Library in Bradenton Beach was jamming at 7:30 a.m.
- the machine jammed
- the gun jammed
- the door jammed
And so if it jams when you need it not to jam, that's that's your fault, right?
- And so if it jams when you need it not to jam, that's that's your fault, right?
- Let's let this run overnight and see if it jams.
- What I'm saying is you're you're calling up Tim Cook and saying my iPhone jammed.
- So, like when he starts shooting, he's he's the first to shoot and he goes, it's jammed and the fucking magazine just falls out the bottom of his handgun.
- If the printer or the copier gets jammed at the office, maybe a lot of places call the company and say this isn't working.
Examples
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Sometimes the door really jams.
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I was sitting in the car, you see, and I was trying to jam the key in the ignition, but it wouldn't turn on.
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Did it jam on you?
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A nickel will jam it!
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I'll need one gun that won't jam.
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If your guns jam, it sometimes helps to bang on the cocking handle.
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- Something's jamming the hydraulics.
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It'll jam the machine.
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The printer often jams when it runs out of paper.
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She was frustrated when her camera jammed during the important event.
Synonyms
To be unable to move or continue because something blocks you
To block a pipe or passage so flow stops
To block a drain or road so things cannot move through it
Become blocked so things cannot move or work
To make moving parts stuck with dirt or glue so they stop working
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
- Specialized
To block a wide range of radio frequencies at once so radios in an area cannot work
- Specialized
To intentionally block a single radio or radar frequency using electronic signals
Compounds
- Informal
A meeting of musicians who make up music and play together without planning
A sweet spread people make from strawberries and sugar to put on bread or pastries
How Stuck
Surface Forms
Etymology
Jam for a machine getting stuck comes from parts being pressed or caught so they cannot move, like being 'blocked' by other pieces. Think of paper 'jammed' in a printer — the parts are stuck and the machine cannot work.