cum

¹ American  

[koom, kuhm] / kʊm, kʌm /

preposition

1. with; combined with; along with (usually used in combination).

   My garage-cum-workshop is well equipped.

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cum ² American  

[kuhm] / kʌm /

noun

Slang: Vulgar.

1. come.

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cum. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. cumulative.

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cum ¹ British  

/ kʌm /

noun

1. taboo a variant spelling of come

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verb

1. a variant spelling of come

cum ² British  

/ kʌm /

preposition

1. used between two nouns to designate an object of a combined nature

   a kitchen-cum-dining room

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Etymology

Origin of cum

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin: “with, together with” (preposition); cf. com- ( def. )

Example Sentences

She enrolled in classes at Emory at 16 and then transferred to Barnard where she majored in creative writing, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

He received his BA summa cum laude from Indiana University in 1995 and his JD magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1998.

From Salon • Aug. 7, 2025

Originally from Detroit but launching her comedy career in Los Angeles, Timpf graduated magna cum laude from Hillsdale College.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2024

She graduated summa cum laude from Michigan, earned her doctoral degree at MIT, where she first started her work on black hole imaging in 2013, then became a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2024

There are, first of all, identity claims, which are deliberate expressions about how we would like to be seen by the world: a framed copy of a magna cum laude degree from Harvard, for example.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell