verb / noun

cram

KRAM/kræm/

To force a large amount into limited space or time.

The student crams, studying a large stack of material with little time remaining.

A student studies urgently beside a nearly depleted visual countdown timer, working through a large stack of course material with very little time remaining.

Etymology

cramOld Englishto press something into something else

Old English crammian meant pressing something into something else, later filling beyond comfortable capacity. The study sense applies that image to packing in information quickly for an exam rather than learning it thoroughly.

In context

High Performance56:59

on it early and I always did this actually doing exams at University as well I I I wasn't one of those person who like to I didn't like to cram it all in I like to be relaxed yeah

Professor Brian Cox: How To Find Your Place In The Universe

More examples

We cram five meetings into a single afternoon.
She crammed for the exam all weekend.
Our last-minute cram session lasts until midnight.

Forms

cram · crams · crammed · cramming

Similar words

pack: Means filling a space, without necessarily forcing too much inside.
stuff: Emphasizes pushing things inside, usually into a physical space.
squeeze: Emphasizes barely finding room, even for a single item.