How to Use gum in a Sentence

gum

1 of 2 noun
  • That will require the lorises to gnaw on the wood to get the gum out of the tubes.
    Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Sasha feels her fangs break through her gums and flees.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2023
  • Nicotine gum and lozenges have been on the market for years.
    Jen Christensen, CNN, 16 Sep. 2022
  • But as Hannah stood, a piece of gum flew from the crowd and hit her shoulder.
    Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Juicy Fruit gum, the scent is slightly sweet and fruity with nice florals mixed in.
    Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Jan. 2023
  • The leaves are decomposing around me and there’s a whiff in the air of three-hour-old Big Red gum.
    Alex Beggs, Bon Appétit, 28 Oct. 2022
  • This allows the puppies to continue to teeth and have the food be kinder to their teeth and gums.
    Josie Goodrich, USA TODAY, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Let your gums and teeth rest for at least 24 hours between sessions to be safe.
    Claire Gillespie, Health, 18 Oct. 2023
  • What to Consider: Some users may find the bristles to be too rough on gums and teeth.
    Leslie Hsu Oh, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2023
  • This should help reduce the amount of plaque buildup in your mouth and keep your teeth and gums healthier.
    Sarah Bradley, Verywell Health, 23 Feb. 2023
  • My friend Ben chewed pink gum under the disco ball and timed his bubble to burst with the beat drop.
    Geoffrey Mak, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2023
  • Never patch a vent pipe with tape, gum, or something else.
    Ted Glanzer, Hartford Courant, 24 Oct. 2022
  • Plush tannins coat the tongue and gums while spice notes linger into a lengthy finish.
    Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
  • The iconic gum, introduced in the 1960s by Beech-Nut, came in five flavors.
    Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 11 Jan. 2024
  • These hormone changes cause an uptick in blood flow to the gums and lower the body's ability to fight plaque build-up.
    Anthea Levi, Health, 16 Mar. 2024
  • Flavors of star fruit, pineapple, kumquat and lemongrass — and well, Juicy Fruit gum? — make a recipe for fun.
    Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2023
  • Not brushing his teeth for a week isn’t going to cause gum disease.
    Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2022
  • Their food is free from gluten, dairy, refined sugars, soy, GMOs or gums.
    Gabi De La Rosa, Chron, 8 Apr. 2023
  • To stay awake on drives that can sometimes last three hours, Ávila keeps candy and gum in her car.
    Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023
  • Suzi holds Jack’s hand as the dentist inserts the needle into Jack’s gum.
    Mike Wagner, USA TODAY, 21 June 2023
  • Suzi holds Jack’s hands as the dentist inserts the needle into Jack’s gum.
    Mike Wagner, The Courier-Journal, 22 June 2023
  • Chew gum, swallow liquid, or suck on candy to change the pressure in your throat.
    Brian Sumers, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Dec. 2022
  • So yes, swallowing a large amount of gum isn’t advised.
    Brittany Edelmann, Discover Magazine, 3 Jan. 2024
  • Greenies feature grooves to clean teeth down to the gum line and are flexible to ensure the treats don’t break upon the first bite.
    Andie Kanaras, Peoplemag, 16 Feb. 2024
  • Patients have also bleed from their gums, nose, and genitalia, the WHO said.
    Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2023
  • When our hands were too grubby to accept a stick of gum, Eva went around and placed a piece in each of our mouths like a communion wafer.
    Sonya Bennett-Brandt, WIRED, 22 Dec. 2022
  • That's because bristles start to wear out and become more abrasive on your gums.
    Kayla Hui, Health, 20 July 2023
  • The sneaker’s leather footbed and gum outsoles are a nod to the deep rooted history and heritage that Puma has with the sport of football.
    Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 9 Sep. 2023
  • Holguin started with gum in the sixth grade; didn’t like mouthpieces but had to be chewing something.
    Eric Sondheimer columnist follow, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2023
  • During his adventures through the aisles, the comedian found gum balls on the floor.
    Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 25 July 2023
Advertisement

gum

2 of 2 verb
  • This allows the meat to go through the grinder easily and not gum up.
    Joe McKendry, WSJ, 28 July 2022
  • For the most part, though, the defensive line didn’t have to hit Mahomes to gum everything up.
    Joel A. Erickson, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2022
  • Only one senator needs to object to gum up the process.
    Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Dec. 2021
  • Powerful forces seek to gum up the machinery, or to rob it of fuel, or to steal its parts.
    Kyle Smith, National Review, 3 Mar. 2022
  • That soon changed as the Panthers gummed up the middle of the floor, deflected entry passes and forced jump balls.
    The Enquirer, 29 Jan. 2024
  • In the past, Fox’s defender would be able to hedge off him, knowing Fox wasn’t a lethal 3-point threat like he’s become this year, and gum up the action.
    Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 1 Feb. 2024
  • Standard gasoline contains ethanol, which can gum up the motor and cause parts to rust if left in the machine all winter.
    Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021
  • Roy says his threat to gum up the movement of these bills was necessitated by the partisan actions of the Democrats.
    Kerry Picket, Washington Examiner, 18 Mar. 2021
  • The trade that has flowed so smoothly throughout the pandemic might finally gum up.
    The Economist, 18 June 2020
  • Yet for some reason, gumming up the smooth functioning of the mitochondria compelled the worms to live longer.
    Quanta Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024
  • With such tight deadlines, a handful of senators could gum up the works and force a government shutdown.
    Peter Weber, The Week, 14 Dec. 2022
  • One problem — among many — is that the WTO operates by consensus, so any one of its 164 member countries could gum up the works.
    Jamey Keaten, ajc, 11 June 2022
  • The Colts defensive line often appeared to gum things up at the line of scrimmage, only to have linebackers or safeties miss tackles in the hole or on the perimeter.
    Joel A. Erickson, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Sep. 2021
  • The writers and actors strikes may be gumming up any dealmaking but the producers say there is talk of a follow-up.
    Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Aug. 2023
  • But in some crowded places like coffee shops, concert venues or airports, lots of people connecting to the same WiFi network can gum up the works.
    Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2022
  • That had helped gum up supply chains, but some of the major logistics problems have eased recently.
    Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2022
  • But Disney lawyers had another idea to gum up DeSantis’ plan.
    Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2023
  • In the 1920s, as those newfangled private motor cars gummed up traffic, street-side parking downtown was banned.
    Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2023
  • Instead, the accountant spent nights in her garage with an X-acto knife, fabric swatches, and assorted glues to design a patch that wouldn’t fray or gum up.
    Olivia Dwyer, Outside Online, 6 Feb. 2018
  • There are links in that process that, while making these kinds of vaccines potentially more flexible, could still gum up the works given all the involved players.
    Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2021
  • Polling stations have replacements available but Richer warned blue or black ballpoint pens can gum up the election machines used to process ballots.
    Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 2 Aug. 2022
  • And, at the moment, Soviet-style spin has gummed up the gears of that churn of accurate information to the point of evading accountability.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 28 July 2023
  • That ties up beds in the hospital, gumming up the usual flow of patients from the emergency department into inpatient beds.
    Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2023
  • Talks on the biennial Nebraska budget have also been gummed up.
    Ernesto Londoño, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Teen drivers either are overly cautious, crawling along at a snail's pace and gum up the traffic or those darned no-good teens of a brazen nature are overly careless and cut off other drivers and run red lights.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 June 2021
  • With long-armed wings and a defense that switches at one of the league’s highest rates, the Nets induced the Clippers into their season-low shooting percentage in November and again gummed up their offense for three quarters.
    Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2024
  • Each can gum up different gears in the immune system’s intricate machinery.
    Jennifer Couzin-Frankel, Science | AAAS, 27 Apr. 2021
  • There was some talk that day about how the mussels might affect native fisheries, but the scientists mostly worried about what the mollusks could do to the region's industries, given their ability to gum up pipes.
    Dan Egan, jsonline.com, 2 Sep. 2021
  • The initial suit was filed in early 2020, and the defense team—representing the state, Governor Greg Gianforte, and several state agencies—filed a number of petitions and motions over the next few years to try and gum up the process.
    Molly Taft, The New Republic, 25 Aug. 2023
  • And the trustees who gleefully conspire in old age to gum up the keys of Petrie’s cherished typewriter seem unaltered from the supercilious, eager-to-humiliate childhood chums of long ago.
    Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: