Spam

American  

[spam] / spæm /

Trademark.

1. a canned food product consisting especially of pork formed into a solid block.

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noun

1. (lowercase) disruptive online messages, especially commercial messages posted on a computer network or sent as email (often used attributively).

   Install spam blocker software and keep your email spam filters updated to protect your accounts from unsolicited spam.

adjective

1. (lowercase) (of promotional content on the internet) irrelevant or misdirected.

   The search engine delivered spam websites that had nothing to do with my keywords.

verb (used with object)

spammed, spamming

1. (lowercase) to send spam to.

2. (lowercase) to execute (an action) or use (an item) rapidly or repeatedly in a video game.

   Spam the attack button as soon as the fight begins.

verb (used without object)

spammed, spamming

1. (lowercase) to send spam.

spam ¹ British  

/ spæm /

verb

1. to send unsolicited electronic mail or text messages simultaneously to a number of e-mail addresses or mobile phones

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noun

1. unsolicited electronic mail or text messages sent in this way

Spam ² British  

/ spæm /

noun

1. a kind of tinned luncheon meat, made largely from pork

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spam Cultural  

1. Unsolicited, undesired e-mail. Also used as a verb. Spam is the e-mail version of junk mail.

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Discover More

The name comes from a Monty Python comedy skit about a restaurant that served only Spam.

Other Word Forms

• spammer noun

Etymology

Origin of Spam

First recorded in 1937 for the trademarked term; sp(iced) + (h)am ¹; 1990–95 for the other senses, probably referring to a comedy routine on Monty Python's Flying Circus, British TV series, in which the word Spam is used repeatedly

Example Sentences

The food company behind brands including Planters, Skippy and Spam on Thursday posted a profit of $181.8 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with $170.5 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

Hormel Foods HRL -0.70%decrease; red down pointing triangle is cutting 250 corporate and sales jobs as part of a restructuring, the food company that owns brands including Planters, Skippy and Spam said Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

Hormel, which is best known as the parent of the Spam and Planters brands, recently cut its profit outlook amid higher-than-expected costs for meat, as well as nuts.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 30, 2025

For Christmas dinner, they toasted moldy bread, and Gibbons surprised everyone with a single can of Spam that they split among everyone.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2025

There’d be no way that she’d allow me to serve turkey-leg-shaped Spam balls.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles