- the part of the hindquarters of a pig or similar animal between the hock and the hip
- the meat of this part, esp when salted or smoked
- informal the back of the leg above the knee
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ham1 /hæm/USA pronunciation
n.
ham2 /hæm/USA pronunciation n., v., hammed, ham•ming.
n. [countable]
v. [no obj]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Fooda cut of meat from a hog's hind quarter: [uncountable]We had plenty of ham left over.[countable]fresh hams hanging in the butcher shop.
- AnatomyOften, hams. [plural] the back of the thigh, or the thigh and the buttock together.
ham2 /hæm/USA pronunciation n., v., hammed, ham•ming.
n. [countable]
- Show Businessan actor or performer who overacts.
- an operator of an amateur radio station:The ham operators told the outside world about the revolution in their country.
v. [no obj]
- Show BusinessAlso, ham it up. to act with exaggerated expression of emotion;
overact:hamming (it up) for the camera.
ham1
(ham),USA pronunciation n.
ham2 (ham),USA pronunciation n., v., hammed, ham•ming.
n.
v.i., v.t.
Ham (ham),USA pronunciation n.
- Fooda cut of meat from the heavy-muscled part of a hog's rear quarter, between hip and hock, usually cured.
- Zoologythat part of a hog's hind leg.
- Anatomythe part of the leg back of the knee.
- AnatomyOften, hams. the back of the thigh, or the thigh and the buttock together.
- bef. 1000; Middle English hamme, Old English hamm bend of the knee; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German hamme, Old High German hamma; akin to Old Norse hǫm buttock; perh. akin to Greek kné̄mē shin, Old Irish cnáim bone
ham2 (ham),USA pronunciation n., v., hammed, ham•ming.
n.
- Show Businessan actor or performer who overacts.
- an operator of an amateur radio station.
v.i., v.t.
- Show Businessto act with exaggerated expression of emotion;
overact. - Show Business, Idioms ham it up, to overact;
ham.
- short for hamfatter, after The Hamfat Man, a black minstrel song celebrating an awkward man 1880–85
Ham (ham),USA pronunciation n.
- Biblethe second son of Noah, Gen. 10:1.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
ham /hæm/ n
ham /hæm/ n
- informal
- an actor who overacts or relies on stock gestures or mannerisms
- overacting or clumsy acting
- (as modifier): a ham actor
- informal a licensed amateur radio operator
- informal to overact