gums

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of gum.

   Brushing too hard can make your gums bleed.

   A mouthguard protects a boxer's teeth and gums during a fight.

   Note

   The everyday plural is anatomical. The flesh around the teeth is usually spoken of in the plural, as in sore gums or bleeding gums. The sticky plant substance and chewing gum are mass nouns, so a plural there means separate pieces of chewing gum. In South Africa, gums can also mean gummi candies, a sweet that is usually named in the plural.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of gum.

   The thick syrup gums up the machine's gears within minutes.

   Spilled soda gums the keyboard keys together.

   Note

   A verb form that often travels with up: syrup gums up the gears, and in colloquial use red tape gums up a process, slowing or stopping it. Without the particle it can mean coating or stiffening something with a sticky substance, or chewing without teeth, as when a toothless dog gums its bone. Saw-sharpening has a trade use too: someone who gums a worn saw deepens the gaps between its teeth, often with a tool called a gummer.

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