spam

1 of 3

noun

ˈspam 

: unsolicited usually commercial messages (such as emails, text messages, or Internet postings) sent to a large number of recipients or posted in a large number of places

spam

2 of 3

verb

spammed; spamming

transitive verb

: to send or post spam to

spammed customers with discount offers

spamming a message board

intransitive verb

: to send or post spam

The company was accused of spamming via text messages.

spammer noun

Spam

3 of 3

trademark

—used for a canned meat product

Examples of spam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Older generations, who have lived in a time when traditional phone calls were the primary means of communication (and spam), tend to be more susceptible to cold calls, which can lead to their victimization. —Karen Koehler, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2026

But app fatigue is real, and Senn says the team is actively thinking about retaining integrity—how to build guardrails that prevent wallets from going the way of email and SMS, buried under spam. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026

Verb

The chat function on streaming platforms, which allows viewers to submit questions or to spam slurs or cryptocurrency advice, creates an easy Q. & A. feature: a streamer can sit back and answer questions for hours without having to plan. —Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 18 Nov. 2025

There are elementary agents, like customer service assistants that can independently field, triage, and handle inbound calls, or sales bots that can cycle through email lists and spam the good leads. —Evan Ratliff, Wired News, 12 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from a skit on the British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus in which chanting of the word Spam overrides the other dialogue

First Known Use

Noun

1990, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1994, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing spam

• anti-spam
• spam filter

Rhymes for spam

• am
• bam
• cham
• clam
• damme
• damn
• dram
• flam
• fram
• gram
• ham
• jam

Kids Definition

spam

1 of 2 noun

ˈspam 

: unsolicited usually commercial email sent to a large number of addresses

spam

2 of 2 verb

: to send spam to

spammer noun