gam

/ɡæm/

//ɡæm// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gam" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gam” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #38,409) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#38,409
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person's leg, especially an attractive woman's leg.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gam · gam · English

gam · rank #38,409 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,409
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH futurama

Nearest frequency peer: futurama (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “gam”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “gam” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

gam vs go
33% similar
gam vs GM
0% similar
gam vs GB
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for gam
PropertyValue
Headwordgam
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡæm/
Letters3
Frequency rank#38,409
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “gam”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).gamlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “futurama” (#38,407), “gatherer” (#38,411), “Furness” (#38,406). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gam” is #38,409. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for gam is neighbouring look-alikes ("go", "GM", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ɡæm/. Frequency #38,409 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Gloss: "A person's leg, especially an attractive woman's leg.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for gam, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "go", "GM", "GB", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Italian gamba (“leg”). Doublet of gamb, gamba, jamb, and jambe. Compare gammon and ham. The correct English form is gam, spelled G-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person's leg, especially an attractive woman's leg.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gam appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Make the salesclerk blush by flashing some gam and asking him to mix a bucket in your flesh tone.
  2. The women's-liberation movement of the late sixties and the seventies – the so-called second wave of feminism – introduced Americans to the notion that their mothers and sisters and daughters ought not to be "objectified": that there was something wrong with reducing female people to boobs, gams, and beaver.

Etymology

From Italian gamba (“leg”). Doublet of gamb, gamba, jamb, and jambe. Compare gammon and ham.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gam"?
"gam" is spelled G-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡæm/.
What does "gam" mean?
As a noun, "gam" means: A person's leg, especially an attractive woman's leg.
What words are commonly confused with "gam"?
"gam" is commonly confused with "go", "GM", "GB". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gam"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gam" is /ɡæm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gam"?
From Italian gamba (“leg”). Doublet of gamb, gamba, jamb, and jambe. Compare gammon and ham. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gam", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Elo#38,382EEA#38,378DDR#38,354dap#38,352

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list