lam
/læm/verb, noun
lam is spelled L-A-M: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, lam means “To beat or thrash” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lam?
| Letters | 3: L-A-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lam?
Lam appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lam?
- /læm/
Lam has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-lam.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lam?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as lam.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mal, alm.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lam
- lams present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- lamming participle, present
- lammed participle, past
- lamm
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lam mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
informalTo beat or thrash.
- 2
datedslangTo flee or run away.
[Gangster running away:] Batman and Robin! Let's lam!
noun
- 1
slangA flight or escape.
on the lam
- 2
The twenty-third letter of the Arabic alphabet, ل (l). It is preceded by ك (k) and followed by م (m).
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of light antiarmor/antiarmour missile.
- 2
Abbreviation of land attack missile.
- 3
Abbreviation of loitering attack missile.
- 4
Acronym of lactational amenorrhea method, a method of birth control through breastfeeding.
- 5
Abbreviation of lymphangioleiomyomatosis
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lam in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to beat or thrash:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lam come from?
From Middle English lamen, lemen, from Old English lemian and Old Norse lemja; both from Proto-Germanic *lamjaną.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).