ham
verb/hæm/
/hæm/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they ham | /hæm/ /hæm/ |
| he / she / it hams | /hæmz/ /hæmz/ |
| past simple hammed | /hæmd/ /hæmd/ |
| past participle hammed | /hæmd/ /hæmd/ |
| -ing form hamming | /ˈhæmɪŋ/ /ˈhæmɪŋ/ |
Word Originverb late 19th cent. (originally US): perhaps from the first syllable of amateur; compare with the US slang term hamfatter ‘inexpert performer’.
Idioms
See ham in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryham it up
- (informal) (especially of actors) when people ham it up, they deliberately exaggerate their emotions or movements
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