ham
cured meat from a pig
Meat from a pig’s back leg, usually salted or smoked, that people eat in sandwiches or with meals.
a slice of [ham]
- She made a simple ham sandwich for lunch.
- We usually serve baked ham at Christmas dinner.
- He bought some sliced ham and cheese at the deli.
- I had bread with ham for breakfast.
- She put ham and cheese in the sandwich.
- They cooked a big ham for the party.
person who overacts or shows off
A person who acts too much or behaves in a loud, funny way to get people to look at them.
[someone] is a real ham
- He’s such a ham, always making funny faces when a camera is around.
- The director told the young actor to stop being a ham and play the scene more naturally.
- She’s a bit of a ham and loves to tell stories in a big, dramatic voice.
- My brother is a real ham at family parties.
- The child was a ham and sang very loudly on stage.
- Don’t be a ham; just speak in a normal voice.
to overact or exaggerate performance
To act or behave in a way that is too big and dramatic, usually to make people laugh or look at you.
to ham [a scene] up
- The kids loved hamming it up for the camera.
- He really hammed up the speech, waving his arms and shouting for effect.
- She tends to ham up every joke until it becomes almost like a mini performance.
- The actor hammed it up and made everyone laugh.
- Please don’t ham it up; just tell the story.
- They were hamming it up on stage for the school play.
amateur radio hobbyist
A person who uses radio as a hobby to talk with other people, not as a job.
[someone] is a ham
- He’s been a ham for over thirty years and still loves talking to people around the world.
- Every weekend the local hams meet to test their equipment and share tips.
- As a teenager, she became a licensed ham and built her own antennas.
- Her father is a ham and talks to people on the radio at night.
- Many hams help with radio communication during emergencies.
- The club has new classes for people who want to become hams.
large thighs or buttocks (slang)
A slang word for the top part of the leg or the bottom, when it looks very big or strong.
[someone] has big hams
- The football player’s huge hams were clear even under his uniform.
- He joked about needing bigger pants to fit his hams.
- The wrestler flexed his hams for the cheering crowd.
- He has big hams from doing heavy work.
- They laughed about his strong hams at the gym.
- Her hams look very strong from all the running.
- Base: ham
- Plural: ham, hams
- Base: ham
- 3rd Person Singular: hams
- Present Participle: hamming
- Past: hammed
- Irregular present participle: hamming Verb
- Irregular past: hammed Verb
ham and cheese
1dish or sandwich with ham and cheese
Food, usually a sandwich or hot toast, that has both ham and cheese in it.
- I’ll have a ham and cheese sandwich, please.
- She made hot ham and cheese melts for dinner.
- They served small ham and cheese rolls at the meeting.
ham and eggs
1meal of ham with eggs
A simple meal, usually breakfast, made with cooked ham and eggs together.
- He ordered ham and eggs with coffee at the diner.
- We had ham and eggs every morning on the trip.
- Ham and eggs is a classic American breakfast.
ham it up
1overact or exaggerate for effect
To act or behave in a very big, funny, or silly way so that people will notice or laugh.
- The kids hammed it up on stage and the audience loved it.
- Whenever there’s a camera around, she can’t help but ham it up.
- He started hamming it up for the tourists as soon as they pointed their phones at him.
ham radio
1amateur radio hobby and equipment
Radio equipment and the hobby of using it to talk to other people for fun, not as a job.
- He spends most weekends working on his ham radio in the garage.
- Many ham radio operators helped relay messages during the storm.
- She got interested in ham radio after hearing a talk at school.