jamb
1 Americannoun
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Architecture, Building Trades.
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either of the vertical sides of a doorway, arch, window, or other opening.
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either of two stones, timbers, etc., forming the sidepieces for the frame of an opening.
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Armor. greave.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a vertical side member of a doorframe, window frame, or lining
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a vertical inside face of an opening in a wall
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."
Vocabulary lists containing jamb
Learning Down The House: Parts of Your Home
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The Odyssey
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Paper Towns
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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.
Gooch, a 37-year-old resident of Leavenworth, Kansas, about 25 miles northwest of Union Station, related his experiences in an Associated Press interview outside his apartment, his crutches leaning against the door jamb behind him.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2024
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
It was sturdily built with a steel jamb, impossible to kick in.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2022
Check your tires every month to make sure they stay at the pressure recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer, which is listed on the jamb on the driver’s door.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2022
They know their work clothes will be mended, washed, and ironed on Monday, that their Sunday shirts will billow on hangers from the door jamb, stiffly starched and white.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
