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.

The southern residents rely on Chinook for the majority of their diet; they’re known to toss less desirable salmon, like pink or chum, out of their way on the hunt.

From Seattle Times

Pete could be having the worst college reunion ever; or he could be excessively self-conscious, because his chums didn’t immediately greet him as the mature do-gooder he now imagines himself to be.

From Los Angeles Times

A large stretch of the Yukon River carries only two of the five species of salmon found in Alaska: chinook and chum.

From New York Times

And he asked when the prime minister would apologise for having "one rule for him and his chums and another for the rest of us plebs".

From BBC

Belgium are attempting to overcome holders Portugal in the last 16 of Euro 2020 and the little Scot is an integral part of the backroom plot to bring down Cristiano Ronaldo and chums.

From BBC

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.