chum
chum Lexical Profile
chum Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A close friend or companion (used informally).
"He spent the weekend catching up with an old college chum from his undergraduate days."
Bait consisting of chopped fish, blood, and oil thrown into the water to attract large game fish or sharks.
"The marine biologists scattered a bucket of chum off the stern of the research vessel to observe the feeding behavior of local sharks."
North American The chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), a large anadromous fish of the family Salmonidae native to the North Pacific Ocean and coastal rivers, characterized by dark vertical bars and prominent hooked jaws during spawning.
"Every autumn, thousands of chum return to the coastal streams of the Pacific Northwest to spawn."
• verb
To scatter chopped fish or bait into a body of water to attract game fish.
"The charter captain chummed the water for an hour before any large tuna appeared near the boat."
To associate closely or form a friendly companionship with someone (informal).
"The two new interns quickly chummed together and ate lunch at the same table every day."
• Rhymes for chum
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
In the sense of a close friend, the word arose as late 17th-century Oxford University slang, generally believed to be aclipping of 'chamber fellow' (roommate). The fishing sense of chopped bait emerged independently in 19th-century American English, possibly from the Powhatan word 'chumm', meaning ground corn.