gum

A soft, sweet substance that you chew but do not swallow.

• Would you like some gum?
• She chewed gum on the bus.
• I bought a packet of mint gum.

Similar words: chewing gum

Common phrases: chew gum, sugarless gum, stick of gum

The firm pink flesh around the roots of your teeth.

• The gum around this tooth is sore.
• My gums bleed when I brush my teeth.
• The dentist checked her teeth and gums.

Similar words: gingiva

Common phrases: sore gum, gum disease, gum tissue

A thick, sticky substance from a plant or tree that becomes hard as it dries.

• Sticky gum covered the tree bark.
• They collected gum from several damaged branches.
• The gum hardened in the sun.

Common phrases: tree gum, natural gum, gum from trees

A thick, sticky liquid used to make things stick together.

• Apply a little gum to the paper.
• The dried gum held the label in place.
• She sealed the envelope with gum.

Similar words: glue, adhesive

Common phrases: liquid gum, gum on paper, bottle of gum

A sticky plant substance that hardens when dry, dissolves in water, and is used to thicken or bind things.

• The paint contains gum arabic.
• This gum dissolves easily in water.
• They added plant gums to thicken the mixture.

Common phrases: gum arabic, acacia gum, dissolve gum

To make a machine or process work badly or stop working.

• Dirt can gum up the engine.
• The new rules gummed up the approval process.
• Old oil had gummed the valves up.

How to use it: gum up something (Too much paperwork can gum up the whole process.)

Similar words: clog, jam, disrupt

Common phrases: gum up something, gum things up

To chew something using the flesh around your teeth, especially when you have no teeth.

• The baby gummed a soft biscuit.
• Our toothless dog was gumming a piece of bread.
• He could only gum the food without his dentures.

Similar words: chew

Common phrases: gum something, gum a biscuit

To cover something with a sticky substance so it will stick to another surface.

• Gum the edges of the paper.
• She gummed the labels before attaching them.
• The envelope flap was already gummed.

Similar words: glue

Common phrases: gum an envelope, gum the edges