gum
noun
[ ɡʌm ]
• a viscous secretion of some trees and shrubs that hardens on drying but is soluble in water, and from which adhesives and other products are made.
• short for chewing gum or bubblegum.
• a gum tree, especially a eucalyptus.
• short for kauri gum.
• another term for gumboot.
gum
verb
• cover with gum or glue.
• "we gummed the photos on to our papers"
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French gomme, based on Latin gummi, from Greek kommi, from Egyptian kemai .
gum
noun
• the firm area of flesh around the roots of the teeth in the upper or lower jaw.
• "a tooth broken off just above the gum"
gum
verb
• chew (something) with toothless gums.
• "the two-year-old gummed his mother's plastic-coated ration card"
Origin:
Old English gōma ‘inside of the mouth or throat’, of Germanic origin; related to German Gaumen ‘roof of the mouth’.
GUM
abbreviation
• genito-urinary medicine.
by gum
• an exclamation used for emphasis.
• "if he wants it done by Friday, by gum, he'd better get cracking!"
