GUM (gummed, gumming)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does gum mean? 

• GUM (noun)
  The noun GUM has 6 senses:

1. a preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing

2. the tissue (covered by mucous membrane) of the jaws that surrounds the bases of the teeth

3. any of various substances (soluble in water) that exude from certain plants; they are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying

4. cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive

5. wood or lumber from any of various gum trees especially the sweet gum

6. any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar or Nyssa that are sources of gum

  Familiarity information: GUM used as a noun is common.

• GUM (verb)
  The verb GUM has 4 senses:

1. cover, fill, fix or smear with or as if with gum

2. grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty

3. become sticky

4. exude or form gum

  Familiarity information: GUM used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

chewing gum; gum

Hypernyms ("gum" is a kind of...):

confection; sweet (a food rich in sugar)

Meronyms (substance of "gum"):

chicle; chicle gum (gum-like substance from the sapodilla)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gum"):

gum ball (a ball of chewing gum with a coating of colored sugar)

bubble gum (a kind of chewing gum that can be blown into bubbles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The tissue (covered by mucous membrane) of the jaws that surrounds the bases of the teeth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

gingiva; gum

Hypernyms ("gum" is a kind of...):

animal tissue (the tissue in the bodies of animals)

Holonyms ("gum" is a part of...):

mouth; oral cavity; oral fissure; rima oris (the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge)

Derivation:

gum (grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any of various substances (soluble in water) that exude from certain plants; they are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("gum" is a kind of...):

exudate; exudation (a substance that oozes out from plant pores)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gum"):

chicle; chicle gum (gum-like substance from the sapodilla)

guar gum (a gum from seeds of the guar plant; used to thicken foods and as sizing for paper and cloth)

gum acacia; gum arabic (gum from an acacia tree; used as a thickener (especially in candies and pharmaceuticals))

Bengal kino; butea gum; butea kino; gum butea (dried juice of the dhak tree; used as an astringent)

gum kino; kino; kino gum (a gum obtained from various tropical plants; used as an astringent and in tanning)

mesquite gum (a gum obtained from mesquite pods; resembles gum arabic)

mucilage (a gelatinous substance secreted by plants)

karaya gum; sterculia gum (exudate of an Asian tree; used for finishing textiles and to thicken foodstuffs and cosmetics)

gutta-percha (a whitish rubber derived from the coagulated milky latex of gutta-percha trees; used for insulation of electrical cables)

lacquer (a black resinous substance obtained from certain trees and used as a natural varnish)

opopanax (an odorous gum resin formerly used in medicines)

gum sangapenum; sangapenum (a variety of gum)

tragacanth (a gum used in pharmacy, adhesives, and textile printing)

cherry-tree gum (exudation from trees of the Prunus genus; resembles gum arabic)

algin; alginic acid (a gum used especially as a thickener or emulsifier)

agar; agar-agar (a colloidal extract of algae; used especially in culture media and as a gelling agent in foods)

ghatti; ghatti gum (an Indian gum from the dhawa tree; used as a substitute for gum arabic)

galbanum; gum albanum (a bitter aromatic gum resin that resembles asafetida)

frankincense; gum olibanum; olibanum; thus (an aromatic gum resin obtained from various Arabian or East African trees; formerly valued for worship and for embalming and fumigation)

euphorbium; gum eurphorbium (an acrid brown gum resin now used mainly in veterinary medicine)

dragon's blood (a dark red resinous substance derived from various trees and used in photoengraving)

conima (a gum resin from the poison hemlock, Conium maculatum)

carrageenan; carrageenin (a colloidal extract from carrageen seaweed and other red algae)

ammoniac; gum ammoniac (the aromatic gum of the ammoniac plant)

balata; gutta balata (when dried yields a hard substance used e.g. in golf balls)

eucalyptus gum; eucalyptus kino; red gum (reddish-brown dried gummy exudation from any of several trees of the genus Eucalyptus especially Eucalyptus camaldulensis)

liquidambar; sweet gum (aromatic exudate from the sweet gum tree)

Derivation:

gum (exude or form gum)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

glue; gum; mucilage

Hypernyms ("gum" is a kind of...):

cement (something that hardens to act as adhesive material)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gum"):

animal glue (a protein gelatin obtained by boiling e.g. skins and hoofs of cattle and horses)

casein glue (made from casein; used for e.g. plywood and cabinetwork)

fish glue (gelatinous substance obtained by boiling skins fins and bones of fish)

marine glue (glue that is not water soluble)

Derivation:

gum (cover, fill, fix or smear with or as if with gum)

gummy (having the sticky properties of an adhesive)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Wood or lumber from any of various gum trees especially the sweet gum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

gum; gumwood

Hypernyms ("gum" is a kind of...):

wood (the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gum"):

hazelwood; red gum; satin walnut; sweet gum (reddish-brown wood and lumber from heartwood of the sweet gum tree used to make furniture)

Holonyms ("gum" is a substance of...):

gum; gum tree (any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar or Nyssa that are sources of gum)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar or Nyssa that are sources of gum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

gum; gum tree

Hypernyms ("gum" is a kind of...):

tree (a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms)

Meronyms (substance of "gum"):

gum; gumwood (wood or lumber from any of various gum trees especially the sweet gum)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gum"):

liquidambar (any tree of the genus Liquidambar)

eucalypt; eucalyptus; eucalyptus tree (a tree of the genus Eucalyptus)

tupelo; tupelo tree (any of several gum trees of swampy areas of North America)

• GUM (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cover, fill, fix or smear with or as if with gum

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

if you gum the tape it is stronger

Hypernyms (to "gum" is one way to...):

apply; put on (apply to a surface)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

gum (cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

gum; mumble

Context example:

the old man had no teeth left and mumbled his food

Hypernyms (to "gum" is one way to...):

chew; jaw; manducate; masticate (chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

gum (the tissue (covered by mucous membrane) of the jaws that surrounds the bases of the teeth)

gumming (ineffectual chewing (as if without teeth))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become sticky

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "gum" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Exude or form gum

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

these trees gum in the Spring

Hypernyms (to "gum" is one way to...):

exudate; exude; ooze; ooze out; transude (release (a liquid) in drops or small quantities)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

gum (any of various substances (soluble in water) that exude from certain plants; they are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying)

 Context examples 

Strips of its bark yield a gummy oleoresin which contains oils, terpenoids and gum.

(Boswellia serrata, NCI Thesaurus)

So I looked at it directly, and, 'Lord! my dear,' says I, 'it is nothing in the world, but the red gum—' and nurse said just the same.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

A capsule intended for administration between the cheek and gum of the oral cavity.

(Buccal Capsule Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

A tablet intended for administration between the cheek and gum of the oral cavity.

(Buccal Tablet Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

Chronic painless inflammation of the gums.

(Chronic Gingivitis, NCI Thesaurus)

Other problems in your mouth, such as gum disease, dry mouth or cavities, may also cause it.

(Bad Breath, NIH)

This type of tumor grows in the gums or other soft tissues of the jaw.

(Scientists discover fossil tumor in 255 million-year-old mammal forerunner, NSF)

An unhealthy population of microbes in the mouth triggers specialized immune cells that inflame and destroy tissues, leading to the type of bone loss associated with a severe form of gum disease.

(Researchers identify immune culprits linked to inflammation and bone loss in gum disease, National Institutes of Health)

When they do occur inside the mouth, it is usually on the gums or the roof of the mouth.

(Cold Sores, NIH)

If you don't, you could have problems with your teeth and gums - like cavities or even tooth loss.

(Dental Health, NIH: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research)