cramming

present participle of cram
1
as in squeezing
to fit (people or things) into a tight space tried to cram one more book into the backpack

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2
3
as in gorging
to fill with food to capacity one of those eating contests in which competitors attempt to cram themselves with as many hot dogs as they can in three minutes

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4
as in inhaling
to swallow or eat greedily the thoughtless guest crammed a dinner that had taken hours to prepare

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cramming The same push toward cramming AI into every corner is also happening on Windows 11, where Microsoft Copilot promises to be helpful. — Adam Clark Estes, Vox, 18 Sep. 2026 The common thread among them is many, many hours spent cramming parenting and their careers into each day. — Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Kim was a relatively normal teenager who, while cramming for tests and navigating crushes, also had to save the world from any villain who wished to do harm. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026 The Pro Max is the one that gets the attention, cramming near-power-bank levels of capacity into a fairly standard-looking smartphone. — New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026 The roommates’ incompatible goals and perennial brokeness lead to side-splitting conflicts, with Shelby cramming for her GED while Kaitlin’s greatest ambition is to throw an epic island party. — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026 The network had a two-way smuggling route between Algeria and Spain, transporting drugs to the African nation and cramming boats with migrants for the return trip to Spanish coastal towns, Spain’s Civil Guard said. — ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026 The situation is also symptomatic of broader strains on the country's higher education system, where grossly limited spots leave millions cramming for months, or even years, and high-stakes entrance exams leave many of them burnt out and in debt. — Sakshi Dayal, USA Today, 22 July 2026 An early 2022 op-ed in the University of Calgary’s student newspaper described the idea as the antithesis of hustle culture, one that finds satisfaction in mundane tasks rather than cramming productivity into every waking moment. — Allison Palmer july 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cramming
Verb
  • Democrats have hammered on meat as well, but mainly just as one of the staples that cost more under Trump, squeezing voters’ pocketbooks.
    — Nicholas Riccardi, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Democrats have hammered on meat as well, but mainly just as one of the staples that cost more under Trump, squeezing voters' pocketbooks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The show and encore, which take up a little over an hour, are bookended by scenes of concertgoers filling the room and then emptying it.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of customers filling their own containers, Hall plans to install a tap wall and have employees handle the refills.
    — Beret Leone, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • For decades, the seabirds have pecked at whales surfacing to breathe, gorging on their skin and blubber.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Bats are invaluable in agriculture, gorging on pests that target crops — corn earworms, brown stink bugs, cucumber beetles and more.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • But some people abuse it by inhaling it to feel relaxed or euphoric.
    — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Tottenham attempted to offload Bissouma last summer, and the club later initiated another internal investigation after an image leaked of Bissouma inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon again.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The team identified a process known as jamming, in which the movement of these regions becomes increasingly restricted.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The crew decamped to Joshua Tree, jamming around a campfire and recording in a makeshift studio in their Airbnb.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Carl leans in, a triangle of packing peanuts on his shirt, one arm behind his back.
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Just in curb weight, the Peugeot E-T16 undercuts the Hyundai Ioniq 5N by a massive 1,312 lb (595 kg) while packing 175 more horsepower.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Just like today’s tentacled ocean dwellers, the Mesozoic squid ancestor likely had no problem devouring its relatives—or even members of its own species.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Davis loved to read and collect books, devouring anything from John Updike and Margaret Atwood, among other authors, a passion that necessitated having bookshelves in every room of his home.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Storyteller experiments with some next-generation convertible furniture designs to make the new van even more versatile and better equipped for loading up gear.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Russian diesel exports loading from the Baltic port of Primorsk resumed on Tuesday, with a tanker carrying around 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulphur diesel heading towards Morocco, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters on Wednesday.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Cramming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cramming. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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