jammed
jammed — verb
1. Past form of 'jam'; if a movable part, machine, or mechanism jammed, it stopped
Past form of 'jam'; if a movable part, machine, or mechanism jammed, it stopped working because something got wedged inside it and would not move.
The printer jammed again, and Tamar had to pull a crumpled sheet from inside.
intransitive: subject is a machine that stops moving
Beatriz pushed the window, but the old wooden frame had jammed shut overnight.
past participle of mechanical stuck-ness
Halfway up the hill, the bicycle's gears jammed and Minh had to walk the rest of the way.
The lock had jammed in the cold, so Ravindra could not open the back door of the cabin.
During the demonstration, the assembly line jammed twice and the foreman shouted for the engineer.
- released
the opposite event: the part broke free
文法句型
[machine/part] + jammed
用法筆記
Subject is typically a mechanical thing (lock, gear, drawer, gun, printer) rather than a person; the cause of the blockage is often left implicit.
常見錯誤
2. Past form of 'jam'; if someone jammed something somewhere, they pushed it into a
Past form of 'jam'; if someone jammed something somewhere, they pushed it into a narrow or already crowded space, often with force.
Élise jammed three textbooks into a backpack that was already half full.
transitive: jammed + object + into + tight space
Aylin jammed her hand into the back pocket of her jeans to find the missing key.
The boys jammed a folded napkin under the table leg to stop the wobble.
Reuben jammed his shoulder against the heavy oak door to keep it from swinging open.
Christopher quickly jammed the receipts into a drawer when the customer walked in.
文法句型
jammed + something + into + place
jammed + something + against + surface
用法筆記
Often emphasises hasty, untidy force; very different from sense 1 (which is intransitive and about a thing seizing up on its own).
常見錯誤
3. Past form of 'jam'; if people or vehicles jammed a road, doorway, or other space
Past form of 'jam'; if people or vehicles jammed a road, doorway, or other space, they filled it so completely that movement through it became very slow or impossible.
By six o'clock, commuter traffic had jammed every street leading out of Taipei.
active: subject crowds + jammed + route
Protest crowds jammed the lobby of city hall for most of Tuesday afternoon.
After the rumour of cheap concert tickets, hundreds of fans jammed the box office.
The narrow side road was jammed with delivery vans before the morning rush hour.
Soraya watched as anxious passengers jammed the corridor toward the airline counter.
文法句型
[place/route] + be jammed
jammed + the road / the streets / the lobby
用法筆記
Often appears in the passive (`the road was jammed with cars`). Distinguish from sense 2 (which moves one thing into a tight spot) — here a crowd blocks a whole space.
常見錯誤
4. Past form of 'jam'; if someone jammed a finger, toe, knee, or other body part, t
Past form of 'jam'; if someone jammed a finger, toe, knee, or other body part, the part was pushed or struck hard against something so that it was painfully squeezed or twisted.
Haruto jammed his finger in the car door and yelped loudly in the parking lot.
jammed + body part + in + closing object
Adina jammed her thumb during volleyball practice and had to ice it for the rest of the evening.
Romi tripped on a step at the museum and jammed her knee against the iron railing.
Paul jammed his big toe on the bedpost when he got up in the dark.
After Kemi jammed her wrist catching the rebound, the coach pulled her out of the game.
文法句型
jammed + body part (+ in/against + surface)
用法筆記
The injury is short-term and caused by a single squeeze or impact; for longer-term damage, use 'sprain' or 'fracture'. Object must be a body part of the agent.
常見錯誤
5. Past form of 'jam'; to have sent out interfering waves on the same frequency as
Past form of 'jam'; to have sent out interfering waves on the same frequency as a radio signal, broadcast, or radar so that the original signal could not be heard or read.
Government engineers tried to jam the rebel broadcast before it reached the southern provinces.
jam + a broadcast
Ezra explained that enemy aircraft were attempting to jam the warship's navigation radar.
jam + a radar system
The protest group used a cheap device to jam mobile phone signals inside the museum gallery.
Sayaka warned the team that someone in the next building was actively jamming their walkie-talkies.
- block
general; doesn't imply interfering waves
- interfere with
broader; jamming is one type of interference
文法句型
jammed + a signal / a transmission / a broadcast / a radar
用法筆記
Used in military, telecoms, and broadcasting contexts. Object is the signal or the device receiving the signal, not the listener.
常見錯誤
6. Past form of 'jam'; in American sports, to have dunked a basketball forcefully,
Past form of 'jam'; in American sports, to have dunked a basketball forcefully, hit a pass receiver hard right after the snap, or thrown a baseball pitch tight on a batter's inside edge.
Lakan jammed the ball through the rim with both hands as the crowd in Manila roared.
basketball: jammed + the ball (dunk)
The cornerback jammed the receiver hard at the line, breaking up the planned route.
American football: jammed + the receiver
Amani's first pitch jammed the batter, and the bat shattered against the inside fastball.
The defender jammed the wide receiver again on third down to disrupt the timing.
文法句型
jammed + a receiver / a batter
jammed + the ball
用法筆記
Three related but distinct sports uses (basketball dunk, football pass-disruption, baseball inside pitch). The reading depends on the named sport in context.
7. Past form of 'jam'; if musicians jammed, they played music together in a relaxed
Past form of 'jam'; if musicians jammed, they played music together in a relaxed, unplanned way, taking turns inventing lines and following each other.
Xiu and her bandmates jammed in the garage every Saturday night for the whole summer.
intransitive: jammed (no object)
After the show, Imani jammed with two local guitarists at a small bar near the river.
jammed + with + person
The four jazz students often jammed until midnight in the practice room above the cafeteria.
Tamar brought her saxophone and jammed on a slow blues number with the house band.
- improvised
more formal; doesn't imply a group
- played around
very informal; broader
文法句型
jammed (+ with + person / on + instrument)
用法筆記
Strictly informal; mostly used about jazz, rock, blues, and other improvisation-friendly genres. No object — the music or other players appear in a 'with' phrase.
常見錯誤
jammed — adjective
1. A jammed door, lock, drawer, or machine is one that has stopped moving because s
A jammed door, lock, drawer, or machine is one that has stopped moving because something is wedged in or against it.
Beatriz wrestled with a jammed drawer for ten minutes before the runner finally gave way.
attributive: jammed + noun (machine/part)
The window in the attic had stayed jammed shut since the previous winter storm.
predicative: be jammed shut
Élise pointed at the jammed photocopier and told the new intern to call maintenance.
After the crash, the driver's door was so badly jammed that firefighters had to cut it open.
文法句型
be jammed (+ shut / open / in place)
用法筆記
Modifies physical mechanical things (doors, drawers, locks, machines, guns). Distinct from sense 2, which describes a space holding too many people or things.
常見錯誤
2. A jammed place is one that is full of so many people or things that there is har
A jammed place is one that is full of so many people or things that there is hardly any room to move.
The night market was so jammed with weekend visitors that Aylin lost sight of her brother twice.
predicative: be jammed with + crowd
Reuben pushed through a jammed corridor to reach the platform before the train left.
attributive: jammed + place
The little café near the cathedral was jammed every Sunday after the morning service.
By halftime the stadium parking lot was completely jammed and latecomers had to walk from the highway.
文法句型
be jammed (+ with + people/things)
jammed + place noun
用法筆記
Subject is a place or route (street, lobby, stadium, café), not a person. Often pairs with 'with + crowd noun'.