spam
/spæm/noun, verb
spam is spelled S-P-A-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, spam means “Unsolicited bulk electronic messages” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spam is spams.
How many letters and syllables are in spam?
| Letters | 4: S-P-A-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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 spam?
Spam appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th 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 spam?
- UK /spæm/
- British /spam/
- /spæm/
Spam 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spam.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with spam?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as spam from its last stressed vowel (/æm/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: samp.
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 spam
- spams plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- spamming participle, present
- spammed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spam mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
rareUnsolicited bulk electronic messages.
I get far too much spam.
- 2
Any undesired electronic content automatically generated for commercial purposes.
An Act to provide for the control of spam, which is unsolicited commercial communications sent in bulk by electronic mail or by text or multi-media messaging to mobile telephone numbers, and to provide for matters connected therewith.
- 3
Excessive, often unwanted and repeated online messages.
- 4
Ellipsis of spam account.
- 5
A large quantity or multitude of anything done repetitively or considered unusually or indiscriminately repetitive.
- 6
A type of tinned meat made mainly from ham.
verb
- 1
To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages.)
- 2
To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages) to a person or entity.
- 3
To send messages repeatedly, often with disruptive effect; to flood.
- 4
To do something rapidly and repeatedly.
Stop spamming that special attack!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spam in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | spam, pourriel, courriel indésirable, pollupostage , spammer, pourrieller |
| German | Spam , spammen , Frühstücksfleisch |
| Portuguese | spam, lixo eletrônico , spamear, spammar |
| Spanish | correo basura, correo no deseado, spam , spamear , carne enlatada, carne de almuerzo |
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 spam come from?
The original sense (canned ham) is a proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 1937. It is presumed to be a conflation of either "spiced ham" or "shoulder of pork and ham" but was soon extended to other kinds of canned meat. Hormel spells the trademarked name in all upper case. The use for unsolicited and unwanted email derives from a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch. In the 1970 sketch, a group of Vikings in a restaurant repeatedly chant the word "spam".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).