cam

IPA/kæm/
KK[kˈæm]IPA/kæm/

cam — noun

  • camsingular
  • camsplural

1. a camera, often a small one, that records or sends live pictures from a particul

1.nounB2
Definition

a camera, often a small one, that records or sends live pictures from a particular place

Example

Mei clipped a tiny cam above the bakery door overnight.

security cam recording a place

The ski instructor checked his helmet cam before the class began.

helmet cam for action recording

Common collocations
  • dash cam
  • body cam
  • baby cam
  • cam feed
Synonyms
  • camera

    the full neutral word for the device

  • webcam

    used mainly for a camera linked to a computer or live stream

  • camcorder

    a handheld video camera rather than a fixed small cam

Grammar Patterns

dash cam

baby cam

helmet cam

cam feed

Usage Note

Common in product names such as dash cam, body cam, and baby cam. It is less formal and more limited in use than the full word camera.

2. the camshaft in an engine, which opens and closes the valves as it turns

2.nounC1
Definition

the camshaft in an engine, which opens and closes the valves as it turns

Example

The mechanic replaced the worn cam after the engine kept misfiring.

cam = camshaft in engine repair

Anthony ordered a new cam for the rebuilt race engine.

Common collocations
  • cam cover
  • cam timing
  • replace the cam
  • twin cam
Synonyms
  • camshaft

    the full technical term; cam is the shortened garage form

Grammar Patterns

replace the cam

cam timing

twin cam engine

Usage Note

Used mainly by mechanics and car enthusiasts as a short form of camshaft. Unlike sense 3, it refers specifically to the shaft in an engine, not any shaped moving part.

Common Mistakes

The wheel has a damaged cam, so the valve will not open.
The engine has a damaged cam, so the valve will not open.
This sense is for the engine part, not a wheel mechanism in general.

3. a shaped part in a machine that turns spinning movement into repeated pushing, l

3.nounC2
Definition

a shaped part in a machine that turns spinning movement into repeated pushing, lifting, or sliding movement

Example

A steel cam lifted the gate each time the wheel turned.

cam converts turning into lifting motion

Chidi sketched a cam that would move the stamp up and down.

Common collocations
  • steel cam
  • cam motion
  • swap the cam
  • cam wheel

Grammar Patterns

a cam lifts

swap the cam

cam motion

Usage Note

This technical sense is broader than sense 2. It can describe many machines, not only engine parts.

cam — abbreviation

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Camera is the broad everyday word for any device that takes photos or video. Cam is a shorter, more informal choice, and it often appears in product names or casual speech when the device is small or fixed in place. Webcam usually means a camera connected to a computer or internet feed for live video. Camcorder refers to a handheld device mainly used for filming video rather than still photos. Dash cam is even narrower: it is the camera mounted inside a vehicle to record the road. If you are naming the general device, say camera; if you are talking about a specific small recording device, cam often sounds more natural.

camera ↗webcam ↗camcorder ↗dash cam

Etymology

LatinFrenchGermanEnglish

Modern cam brings together several shortened forms. The camera sense is a clipped form of camera. The mechanical sense comes through French came from a Germanic word related to German Kamm, 'comb', which described the tooth-like shape of the part. The capitalized abbreviation senses were formed later in English from the first letters of longer technical and medical phrases.

First known use

1777

1777, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Noun (2)