Nam

¹ American

[nahm, nam] / nɑm, næm /

Or 'Nam

noun

Informal.

Vietnam.

Nam ² American

[nahm] / nɑm /

noun

a former name of Chao Phraya.

NAM ³ American

Or N.A.M.

abbreviation

National Association of Manufacturers.

Nam ¹ British

/ næm /

noun

informal Vietnam

"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

NAM ² British

abbreviation

Namibia (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

Etymology

Origin of Nam

First recorded in 1965–70; by shortening

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.

Find insight on United Airlines, Nam Cheong and more in the latest Market Talks covering the auto and transport sector.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Viet Nam News reported that organ donations had been made to "five critically ill Vietnamese patients" at the hospital.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

“A few IT workers can easily fund a missile,” said Nam, head of a Seoul-based North Korean human-rights group called People for Successful Corean Reunification, or PSCORE.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

"Even without much initial interest, once you hear that everyone else is eating it, you start wondering just how good it must be," Nam Su-yeon, a 28-year-old office worker, told AFP.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

Then they asked each one of us why we were fighting in Nam.

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023