cram
cram Lexical Profile
cram Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To completely fill a space or container to the point of overflowing by stuffing or pressing things into it.
"He tried to cram a week's worth of clothing into a single carry-on bag."
To study intensively over a short period of time just before an examination.
"Many students stay up late to cram for their final exams rather than reviewing steadily throughout the semester."
To eat quickly and greedily, or to force food into someone or an animal to fatten them.
"The children crammed their mouths with cake before heading back outside to play."
• noun
A crowded state or a tightly packed mass of people or things; a crush.
"There was a terrible cram of commuters at the station entrance when the train finally arrived."
A period of hasty, intensive study shortly before an examination (informal).
"After a late-night cram in the library, she felt reasonably prepared for the chemistry exam."
• Rhymes for cram
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English crammian ('to press, stuff, or squeeze into'), derived from the Proto-Germanic root *kramm-, related to Old Norse kremja ('to squeeze or pinch'). The academic sense of studying intensively at the last minute arose in British university slang in the early 19th century, comparing the mind to a container being hastily stuffed with facts.