jams

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of jam.

   The market stall sold homemade jams in a dozen different flavors.

   Late-night jams with the band often lasted until dawn.

   Note

   A plural that changes what it counts. Jam the fruit preserve is mostly a mass noun, so jams on a market stall usually means kinds or flavors, not spoonfuls. The other nouns count naturally: traffic jams, late-night jams with a band, and, in informal talk, a list of favorite jams. The same spelling also serves the verb form, as in the drawer jams, and the sentence's grammar decides which is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of jam.

   The drawer jams every time someone overloads it with papers.

   He jams his keys into his pocket before sprinting for the train.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs: the -s that marks a present-tense verb also makes the plural noun, so only the surrounding words tell "the jams" from "it jams". As a verb it works both ways. A drawer jams on its own, while a hand jams keys into a pocket. When the meaning is blockage it often takes up: a crowd jams up the exit.

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