Chum Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms chum 1 American [chuhm] / tʃʌm /

noun

1. a close or intimate companion.

   boyhood chums.

2. Older Use. a roommate, as at college.

verb (used without object)

chummed, chumming

1. to associate closely.

2. Older Use. to share a room or rooms with another, especially in a dormitory at a college or prep school.

chum 2 American [chuhm] / tʃʌm /

noun

1. cut or ground bait dumped into the water to attract fish to the area where one is fishing.

2. fish refuse or scraps discarded by a cannery.

verb (used without object)

chummed, chumming

1. to fish by attracting fish by dumping cut or ground bait into the water.

verb (used with object)

chummed, chumming

1. to dump chum into (a body of water) so as to attract fish.

2. to lure (fish) with chum.

   They chummed the fish with hamburger.

chum 3 American [chuhm] / tʃʌm /

noun

1. chum salmon.

chum 1 British / tʃʌm /

noun

1. informal a close friend

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to be or become an intimate friend (of)

2. (tr) to accompany

   I'll chum you home

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 chum 2 British / tʃʌm /

noun

1. angling chopped fish, meal, etc, used as groundbait

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 chum 3 British / tʃʊm /

noun

1. a Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus keta

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of chum1

First recorded in 1675–85; of uncertain origin

Origin of chum2

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I still remember my college days and chums as clearly as when I was 24.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The next morning, it was clear that Maxwell had conferred with her royal chum because she told me: 'You did well. The prince had fun.'"

From BBC

A week before Christmas in 1956 she was invited to visit an old school chum’s family farm in Kenya.

From Los Angeles Times

The waters have been chummed and the sharks are beginning to circle.

From Salon

In a surreal moment, the two men were laughing and chumming it up like old friends.

From Salon

Related Words

• buddy
• comrade
• crony
• playmate

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.