glom

verb

ˈgläm

glommed; glomming

Synonyms of glom next

transitive verb

: take, steal

: seize, catch

Phrases

glom on to

: to grab hold of : appropriate to oneself

glommed on to her ideas

Did you know?

It's a classic case of glomming: Americans seized on glaum (a term from Scots dialect that basically means “to grab”) and appropriated it as their own, changing it to glom in the process. Glom first meant “to steal” (as in the purse-snatching, robber kind of stealing), but over time that meaning got stretched to include figurative uses. Today the term is most familiar in the phrase “glom on to,” or “glom onto,” which can mean “to appropriate for one's own use,” as in “glomming on to another's idea”; “to grab hold of,” as in “glommed onto the last cookie”; “to latch on to,” as in “glom on to an opinion” or “glom onto an influential friend”; or “to become aware of,” as in “glomming onto the potential of this new technology.”

Examples of glom in a Sentence

the manager glommed the shoplifter just as she was about to bolt out of the store

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

The nonprofit also glommed onto the fact that technology trials for sortation and other forms of preparation must be a priority because many of its employees are differently abled, meaning that adaptations will need to be made. —

Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019 Subsequently, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah glommed on to the Big 12 while Stanford and California went bi-coastal, accepting last-minute refuge in the ACC. —

Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019 The church uncritically glomming onto the latest LM for its liturgical, educational, or pastoral work will compound the harm in this area already inflicted by the long, lonely slog of the pandemic. —

Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 3 Sep. 2024 Two different types of supplements are glomming onto the popularity of GLP-1 agonist drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide, which mimic a natural appetite-suppressing, blood-sugar-regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1. —

Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 14 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for glom