# cam

Pronunciation: US say "KAM" /kæm/; UK

## Noun

1. A camera, a device for taking photographs or recording video. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A camera, used to take photos or videos.
   - _Turn the cam around so everyone can see the cake._
   - _The cam over the shop door caught the whole thing on video._
2. A rotating or sliding machine part that drives the motion of a rod, lever, or block that slides or rolls against it.
   - Simple: A turning or sliding part in a machine that pushes against another part, like a rod, to make it move.
   - _As the shaft rotates, each cam presses against a valve and forces it open._
   - _A cam on the drive shaft rocks the lever back and forth with every turn._
3. A curved wedge that pivots on an axis and is used to force or clamp two pieces together.
   - Simple: A curved piece that turns on a pin to press or lock two parts tightly together.
   - _Turn the cam until the two panels are pressed tightly against each other._
   - _The woodworker tightened the jig by flipping a small cam against the board._
4. An unauthorized copy of a film made by recording it with a camera in a movie theater.
   - Simple: An illegal copy of a movie, filmed with a camera inside a movie theater.
   - _Within hours of the premiere, a shaky cam of the movie had leaked online._
   - _Pirate sites rushed out cams of the blockbuster long before any clean copy appeared._
6. A spring-loaded camming device, which a climber wedges into a crack in the rock to make a temporary belay.
   - Simple: A climbing tool with springs that grips a crack in the rock to hold the rope for a while.
   - _She slotted a cam into the crack and clipped the rope through it before moving up._
   - _The route takes small cams, so bring a full rack._
7. A raised ridge or mound of earth. *(dialectal, UK)*
   - Simple: A long raised line or small pile of earth.
   - _A long cam of earth marked the boundary between the two farms._
   - _We sheltered from the wind behind the cam at the bottom of the field._

## Verb

5. To connect with someone by webcam for a live video chat.
   - Simple: To talk with someone using a webcam, so you can see each other.
   - _The two of them cam with each other every night while he's working overseas._
   - _We cammed with the grandparents so they could watch the baby open her presents._

## Other meanings

- (adverb) Alternative form of kam.

## Origin

**Meanings 2–3, 6–7** — Recorded since the 16th century, from Dutch kam ("cog of a wheel; originally, comb"), which is related to English comb and survives in modern Dutch compounds such as kamrad and kamwiel ("cog wheel"). It is a doublet of comb.
**Meanings 1, 4–5** — A shortened form (clipping) of camera.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cam (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).