ham

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈham 

1

a

: the hollow of the knee

b

: a buttock with its associated thigh

—usually used in plural

2

: a cut of meat consisting of a thigh

especially : one from a hog

3

a

: a showy performer

especially : an actor performing in an exaggerated theatrical style

b

: someone who enjoys performing and who tends to behave in an exaggerated or playful way when people are watching

A bit of a ham, she's been collecting these one-liners for decades.

—Elizabeth Rubin

" … I was always sort of a ham. I talk a lot. I'm wild. I was always performing growing up … "

—Pokey LaFarge

c

: a licensed operator of an amateur radio station

4

: a cushion used especially by tailors for pressing curved areas of garments

ham adjective

ham

2 of 3

verb

hammed; hamming

transitive verb

: to execute with exaggerated speech or gestures : overact

ham it up for the camera

intransitive verb

: to overplay a part

Ham

3 of 3

noun (2)

ˈham 

: a son of Noah held to be the progenitor of the Egyptians, Nubians, and Canaanites

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• backside
• behind
• booty [slang]
• bootie
• bottom
• breech
• bum
• buns
• butt
• buttocks
• caboose
• can
• cheeks
• derriere
• derrière
• duff
• fanny
• fundament
• haunches
• heinie [slang]
• hunkers
• keister [slang]
• keester
• nates
• posterior
• rear
• rear end
• rump
• seat
• tail
• tail end
• tush [slang]

Examples of ham in a Sentence

Noun (1)

We're having ham for dinner.

He was once a fine actor, but now he's just an old ham.

Cameras bring out the ham in her.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Although he’s never been a ham (most of the stage banter was thank yous and recognizing the musicians and crew), Gilmour’s charisma shined during the songs. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2024

The ham and cheese egg bake ($28) is made with croissants, ham, leeks, and Wisconsin white cheddar, and serves four to six people. —Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 4 Nov. 2024

Verb

Episode writer Zachary Reiter knows exactly how to ham up the calm before the storm, warming us up with sentimental moments (like a mother preparing her son for his first date) and frisky foreshadowing (of course there’s a couple getting it on in the bathroom). —Laura Bradley, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2024

In honor of the Games’ host country this year, the star opted for a vintage, Parisian cabaret-style performance, hamming up her movements with every opportunity. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 26 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English hamme, homme "back of the knee, hock of a quadruped," going back to Old English hamm, homm (strong feminine) "back of the knee," going back to Germanic *hammō-, *hamō- (whence also Middle Dutch hamme "back of the knee, shank," Old High German hamma, hama (feminine weak noun) "hollow of the knee, calf, hock," hammo (masculine weak noun) "hock," Old Norse hǫm "back of the leg, haunch (of a horse)," going back to an Indo-European ablauting paradigm *konh₂-m-, *kn̥h₂-m-os, whence also Old Irish cnáim "bone," Greek knḗmē "shank, tibia"); (sense 3) probably short for hamfatter

Note: The presumption is that the Germanic etymon is a generalization of the nominative form, while the Celtic and Greek etyma maintained the oblique form. The geminate -mm- in the Germanic words is most likely a reduction of *-nm-; G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Brill, 2013) explains the variation between single and double -m- as "analogical degemination [loss of gemination] in the nominative case of an n-stem paradigm."

Verb

derivative of ham entry 1 (sense 3)

Noun (2)

Hebrew

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1933, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ham

• daisy ham
• ham-fisted
• ham-handed
• ham it up
• Smithfield ham
• Virginia ham
• Westphalian ham

Kids Definition

ham

1 of 2 noun

ˈham 

1

: a buttock with its associated thigh

—usually used in plural

2

: a cut of meat consisting of a thigh

especially : one from a hog

3

a

: an unskillful but showy performer

b

: an operator of an amateur radio station

ham adjective

ham

2 of 2 verb

hammed; hamming

: to act with exaggerated speech or gestures

ham it up for the camera

Medical Definition

ham

noun

ˈham 

1

: the part of the leg behind the knee : the hollow of the knee : popliteal space

2

: a buttock with its associated thigh or with the posterior part of a thigh

—usually used in plural

3

: a hock or the hinder part of a hock