jamb

¹ American  

[jam] / dʒæm /

Or jambe

noun

1. Architecture, Building Trades.

   1. either of the vertical sides of a doorway, arch, window, or other opening.

   2. either of two stones, timbers, etc., forming the sidepieces for the frame of an opening.

2. Armor. greave.

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jamb ² American  

[jam] / dʒæm /

verb (used with or without object)

Obsolete.

1. an obsolete variant of jam.

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jamb British  

/ dʒæm /

noun

1. a vertical side member of a doorframe, window frame, or lining

2. a vertical inside face of an opening in a wall

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Etymology

Origin of jamb

1350–1400; Middle English jambe < Middle French: leg, jamb < Late Latin gamba, variant of camba pastern, leg < Greek kampḗ bend of a limb

Explanation

A jamb is one of the upright boards or posts that support a door or window frame. Your front door shuts securely in between two jambs. When a house builder frames a doorway, she sets two jambs at the sides of the opening, with what's called a lintel at the top. The door fits between the jambs. Windows have jambs too — if you replace your existing windows, you may need a whole new frame, including new jambs. The Old French origin is jambe, which means "pier or side post," but was originally "a leg or a shank," from the Late Latin gamba, "leg."

Example Sentences

The police and Sheehy eventually pulled McGinnis back into the room to remove his hand from inside the door jamb.

From Salon • Mar. 5, 2026

The 10-year-old stood outside the only home he’d ever known — a home he could traverse in total darkness, whose every floorboard and door jamb he knew like the back of his hand.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2025

When I tested the original Lockly Vision, I couldn't access the fingerprint reader as the lock butted up too close to my door jamb.

From The Verge • Jul. 22, 2022

Doors are similar and need to close tightly against the jamb and sill weather stripping.

From Washington Post • Feb. 16, 2022

He turned the jar slowly in his hands, then took it from the jamb and turned off the ring of the lid and set it in the floor.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy