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  • cam
    cam
    noun
    a disk or cylinder having an irregular form such that its motion, usually rotary, gives to a part or parts in contact with it a specific rocking or reciprocating motion.
  • Cam
    Cam
    noun
    a river in E England flowing NE by Cambridge, into the Ouse River. 40 miles (64 km) long.
  • CAM
  • Cam.
    Cam.
    abbreviation
    Cambridge.
  • -cam
    -cam
    combining form
    camera
Synonyms

cam

1 American  
[kam] / kæm /

noun

  1. Machinery. a disk or cylinder having an irregular form such that its motion, usually rotary, gives to a part or parts in contact with it a specific rocking or reciprocating motion.

  2. Automotive Slang. camshaft.

verb (used with object)

cammed, camming

  1. to provide (a machine part or mechanism) with a cam or cams.

cam 2 American  
[kam] / kæm /

noun

  1. a camera, especially one that records video (often used in combination, as in ).

    She's a professional photographer who uses state-of-the-art cams.
Cam 3 American  
[kam] / kæm /

noun

  1. a river in E England flowing NE by Cambridge, into the Ouse River. 40 miles (64 km) long.

CAM 4 American  
[kam] / kæm /

noun

  1. computer-aided manufacturing.

Cam. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Cambridge.

CAM 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. complementary and alternative medicine

  2. computer-aided manufacture

  3. botany crassulacean acid metabolism: a form of photosynthesis, first described in crassulaceous plants, in which carbon dioxide is taken up only at night

  4. Cameroon (international car registration)

"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
-cam 2 British  

combining form

  1. camera

    webcam
"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
Cam 3 British  
/ kæm /

noun

  1. a river in E England, in Cambridgeshire, flowing through Cambridge to the River Ouse. Length: about 64 km (40 miles)

"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
cam 4 British  
/ kæm /

noun

  1. a slider or roller attached to a rotating shaft to give a particular type of reciprocating motion to a part in contact with its profile

"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 cam1

< Dutch or Low German kam, kamm. See comb

Origin of cam2

First recorded in 1975–80; shortening of camera 1 ( def. )

Origin of CAM4

First recorded in 1965–70

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.

See Examples For:

The shaky cam is intended to jolt us into that awareness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Several schoolteachers described bringing the nest cam into their classrooms as a learning tool.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Detectives "continue to appeal for witnesses and anyone driving in the vicinity at the time who may have captured footage on dash cam to contact them", the spokesman added.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Police are appealing for information and have urged anyone who has CCTV, doorbell or dash cam footage which covers The Crest between 00:01 on Saturday and 15:00 on Sunday to get in touch.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

“I’ll be here. You’ve got to get him into view of my laptop cam before doing your spiel. We need to get a frontal view on tape.”