cam
English · Español · Français · Português · Tiếng Việt · Română · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
cam¹
- /ˈkæm/
- [ˈkʰæm]
- /ˈkeə̯m/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰeə̯m] Canada, US
- /ˈkɛə̯m/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰɛə̯m] Canada, US
Rhymes with -æm
Where it comes from
PIE word
*ǵómbʰos
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵembʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos
Proto-Germanic *kambaz
Proto-West Germanic ᚲᚨᛒᚨ
Proto-West Germanic *kamb
Old Dutch *kamb
Middle Dutch kamp
Dutch kamder.
English cam
Recorded since the 16th century, from Dutch kam (“cog of a wheel; originally, comb”) (cognate with English comb, and preserved in modern Dutch compounds such as kamrad, kamwiel (“cog wheel”)). Doublet of comb.
noun cams
- A turning or sliding piece which imparts motion to a rod, lever or block brought into sliding or rolling contact with it.
- A curved wedge, movable about an axis, used for forcing or clamping two pieces together.
- A ridge or mound of earth. Cum doun t' cam' soid
- A spring-loaded camming device, a spring-loaded device for effecting a temporary belay in a rock crevice.
cam²
- /ˈkæm/
- [ˈkʰæm]
- /ˈkeə̯m/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰeə̯m] Canada, US
- /ˈkɛə̯m/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰɛə̯m] Canada, US
Rhymes with -æm
Where it comes from
Clipping of camera.
noun cams
- Camera.
- A bootleg recording of a film recorded in a movie theater.
verb cams · camming · cammed
- To go on webcam.
cam³
- /ˈkæm/
- [ˈkʰæm]
- /ˈkeə̯m/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰeə̯m] Canada, US
- /ˈkɛə̯m/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰɛə̯m] Canada, US
Rhymes with -æm
adverb more cam · most cam
- Alternative form of kam
Cam⁴
Where it comes from
A back-formation from Cambridge; compare Middle English Cante and New Latin Camus, Chamus.
proper noun
-
A river in Cambridgeshire, England, which passes through Cambridge and joins the Great Ouse.
Similar: Granta
Cam⁵
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English Camme, Camne, from Old English *Camme, ultimately from a Celtic word for "crooked," Proto-Celtic *kambos, from late Proto-Indo-European *(s)kambo- (“crooked”), shared with Ancient Greek σκαμβός (skambós).
proper noun
- A village and civil parish in Stroud district, Gloucestershire, England (OS grid ref SO7400).
- A minor river in Gloucestershire which flows into the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.
Cam⁶
- /kæm/ US
Where it comes from
Shortening.
proper noun Cams
- A diminutive of the male given name Cameron. Cam Smith bounced to shortstop on a 100 mph fastball, and Jacob Melton also grounded out on an 86.9 mph curveball.
CAM⁷
noun CAMs
- Initialism of complementary and alternative medicine
- Initialism of common area maintenance
- Initialism of computer-aided manufacturing
- Initialism of cockpit area microphone
- Initialism of cell-adhesion molecule
- Initialism of crassulacean acid metabolism
- Initialism of contract air mail (often followed by the route number, eg, CAM 21).
- Initialism of content-addressable memory
proper noun
- Abbreviation of Campeche: a state of Mexico.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: lever, tappet, camshaft, trippet, beam, stuff, tcp, lifter, bit, chamber, rfd, radm, house, booth, dope, mac
Translations
Talk about this word "cam." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cam. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cam. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cam "cam." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cam.Cite this
@misc{cam_2026,
title = {cam},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cam},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
