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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

gum.

The flesh around the teeth.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɡʌm//ɡum//ɡʊm/New-England, obsolete

  1. The flesh around the teeth.

    in-plural · often
Where this word comes from

From Middle English gom, gome, gomme, goome, gum, gume, gumme, from Old English gōma (“palate”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōmō, from Proto-Germanic *gaumô, *gōmô (“palate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to gape, yawn”). Cognates Cognate with Cimbrian gaumo (“palate”), German Gaum, Gaumen (“palate”), Luxembourgish Gomm, Gumm (“palate”), Yiddish גומען (gumen, “palate”), Danish gumme (“gums”), Icelandic gómur (“gum”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish gom (“palate”); also Latin hio (“to gape, yawn”), Ancient Greek χάσκω (kháskō, “to gape, yawn”), Lithuanian gomurỹs (“palate”), Bulgarian зе́я (zéja, “to gape”), Czech zát, zet (“to gape”), Polish ziać (“to pant”), Russian зия́ть (zijátʹ, “to gape, yawn”), Serbo-Croatian зи́јати, zíjati (“to gape, yawn”), Ukrainian зя́яти (zjájaty, “to gape”), Tocharian A koy- (“mouth”), Tocharian B koyn (“mouth”). More at yawn.

verb/ɡʌm//ɡum//ɡʊm/New-England, obsolete

  1. To chew, especially of a toothless person or animal.

  2. To deepen and enlarge the spaces between the teeth of (a worn saw), as with a gummer.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English gom, gome, gomme, goome, gum, gume, gumme, from Old English gōma (“palate”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōmō, from Proto-Germanic *gaumô, *gōmô (“palate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to gape, yawn”). Cognates Cognate with Cimbrian gaumo (“palate”), German Gaum, Gaumen (“palate”), Luxembourgish Gomm, Gumm (“palate”), Yiddish גומען (gumen, “palate”), Danish gumme (“gums”), Icelandic gómur (“gum”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish gom (“palate”); also Latin hio (“to gape, yawn”), Ancient Greek χάσκω (kháskō, “to gape, yawn”), Lithuanian gomurỹs (“palate”), Bulgarian зе́я (zéja, “to gape”), Czech zát, zet (“to gape”), Polish ziać (“to pant”), Russian зия́ть (zijátʹ, “to gape, yawn”), Serbo-Croatian зи́јати, zíjati (“to gape, yawn”), Ukrainian зя́яти (zjájaty, “to gape”), Tocharian A koy- (“mouth”), Tocharian B koyn (“mouth”). More at yawn.

noun/ɡʌm//ɡʌm//ɡum//ɡʊm/New-England, obsolete

  1. A viscous water-soluble carbohydrate exudate of certain plants that hardens when it becomes dry, or such a substance as a component of a plant exudate.

    uncountable
    gum arabic
    gum-oleo-resin

  2. Any viscous or sticky substance resembling the true gum.

    uncountable
    gum benzoin

  3. Chewing gum.

    uncountable

  4. A single piece of chewing gum.

    countable
    Do you have a gum to spare?

  5. A gummi candy.

    South-Africa · countable · in-plural · often · uncountable

  6. A hive made of a section of a hollow gum tree; hence, any roughly made hive.

    Southern-US · US · countable · dialectal · uncountable

  7. A vessel or bin made from a hollow log.

    Southern-US · US · countable · dialectal · uncountable

  8. A rubber overshoe.

    US · countable · dialectal · uncountable

  9. A gum tree.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English gomme, gumme, borrowed from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian qmy (“anointing oil”), qmyt (“acanthus resin, gum”). Cognate with Spanish goma (“rubber”). Doublet of gumma.

verb/ɡʌm//ɡʌm//ɡum//ɡʊm/New-England, obsolete

  1. To apply an adhesive or gum to; to make sticky by applying a sticky substance to.

    sometimes · with-up

  2. To stiffen with glue or gum.

  3. To inelegantly attach into a sequence.

    sometimes

  4. To impair the functioning of a thing or process.

    colloquial · with-up
    That cheap oil will gum up the engine valves.
    The new editor can gum up your article with too many commas.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English gomme, gumme, borrowed from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian qmy (“anointing oil”), qmyt (“acanthus resin, gum”). Cognate with Spanish goma (“rubber”). Doublet of gumma.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.