ham

Meat from a pig's back leg, preserved with salt or smoke and eaten as food.

• I had a ham sandwich.
• She added slices of ham to the salad.
• Would you like ham and cheese?

Common phrases: ham sandwich, smoked ham, ham and cheese, slice of ham

The upper back leg of a pig or another animal, cut off to be used as meat.

• The butcher cut off the ham.
• We bought a fresh ham to roast.
• The farmer salted both hams from the pig.

Similar words: haunch

Common phrases: whole ham, fresh ham, bone in ham

A performer who shows feelings or behaves in an exaggerated way, often to get attention.

• That actor is a real ham.
• She becomes a ham whenever a camera appears.
• The audience loved the old ham's dramatic gestures.

Similar words: overactor, show-off

Common phrases: a real ham, a terrible ham, ham actor

Someone who uses radio equipment to communicate with other people as a hobby.

• My uncle is a radio ham.
• The local hams helped relay emergency messages.
• A ham in Canada answered our signal.

Similar words: amateur radio operator

Common phrases: radio ham, licensed ham, local ham

The back part of a person's or animal's upper leg.

• His hams ached after the long ride.
• The horse had strong, muscular hams.
• He rubbed the sore flesh of his ham.

Common phrases: muscular ham, sore ham, ham muscles

The hollow area at the back of the knee.

• The ham lies behind the knee.
• He felt a sharp pain in his ham.
• The physician examined the hollow of her ham.

Similar words: knee pit, popliteal fossa

Common phrases: hollow of ham, painful ham, ham of someone

To act or show feelings in an exaggerated way, especially to entertain people.

• He loves to ham it up.
• She hammed it up whenever the camera turned toward her.
• Stop hamming it up and play the scene naturally.

How to use it: ham it up (The actors hammed it up for the audience.)

Similar words: overact, camp it up

Opposites: underact

Common phrases: ham it up, ham for someone