: the tissue that surrounds the necks of teeth and covers the alveolar parts of the jaws
broadly
: the alveolar portion of a jaw with its enveloping soft tissues
gummed; gumming
1
a
: any of numerous colloidal polysaccharide substances of plant origin that are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying and are salts of complex organic acids compare mucilage sense 1
b
: any of various plant exudates (such as an oleoresin or gum resin)
2
: a substance or deposit resembling a plant gum (as in sticky or adhesive quality)
3
a
: a tree (such as a black gum) that yields gum
b
Australia
: eucalyptus
4
: the wood or lumber of a gum
especially
: that of the sweet gum
5
gummed; gumming
: to clog, impede, or damage with or as if with gum
gum up the works
gummer
noun
Examples of gum in a Sentence
Verb (2)
pipes gummed up with cooking grease
Recent Examples on the Web
Lindsay Curtis, Health, 25 Oct. 2025
On the floor of their tiny makeshift home in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, her mother Fatima Begum feeds Sofiya by rubbing her gums with a food paste designed to treat severe malnutrition.
—Rebecca Wright, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
Losses accelerated following Trump’s tariff threat, which could gum up global trade and lead the economy to burn less fuel.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gum
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Noun
Oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, and other acidic foods can irritate tender gums.
—Lindsay Curtis, Health, 25 Oct. 2025
On the floor of their tiny makeshift home in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, her mother Fatima Begum feeds Sofiya by rubbing her gums with a food paste designed to treat severe malnutrition.
—Rebecca Wright, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
Beyond causing poor performance, old gasoline resins can gum up fuel lines and carburetors, wreaking havoc on your engine’s fuel delivery system.
—Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
Losses accelerated following Trump’s tariff threat, which could gum up global trade and lead the economy to burn less fuel.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gum
Cite this Entry
“Gum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gum. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gum
1 of 3 noun
: the tissue along the jaws of animals that surrounds the necks of the teeth
gum
2 of 3 noun1
: any of numerous complex sticky colloidal substances (as gum arabic) that are obtained from plants, harden on drying, and are either soluble in water or swell up in contact with water and that are used in preparing some drugs, for adhesives, as food thickeners, and in inks
also
: any of various gummy plant substances including natural resins, rubber, and rubberlike substances
2
: a substance resembling a plant gum (as in stickiness)
3
: a tree that yields a gum
4
gum
3 of 3 verb
gummed; gumming
1
: to smear, seal, or clog with or as if with gum
2
: to cause not to work properly
gum up the works
Etymology
Noun
Old English gōma "roof of the mouth, palate"
Noun
Middle English gomme "plant gum," from early French gomme (same meaning), from Latin cummi, gummi (same meaning), derived from Egyptian qmyt "plant gum"
Medical Definition
gum
1 of 3 noun
: the tissue that surrounds the necks of teeth and covers the alveolar parts of the jaws
broadly
: the alveolar portion of a jaw with its enveloping soft tissues
gum
2 of 3 transitive verb
gummed; gumming
: to chew with the gums
gum
3 of 3 noun1
: any of numerous colloidal polysaccharide substances of plant origin that are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying and are salts of complex organic acids compare mucilage
2
: any of various plant exudates (as a mucilage, oleoresin, or gum resin)
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