From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgumgum1 /ɡʌm/ ●●● S3 noun 1 [countable usually plural]HBHHBA your gums are the two areas of firm pink flesh at the top and bottom of your mouth, in which your teeth are fixed2 [uncountable]DF chewing gum3 [uncountable] British EnglishTD a type of glue used to stick light things such as paper together4 [uncountable]TAF a sticky substance found in the stems of some trees5 [countable]HBP a gum tree6 → by gum!
Examples from the Corpus
gum• There, they surrendered cigarettes, breath mints and gum, which might pick up radioactivity that could be ingested.• Somewhere between ginger, orange, peppermint and chewing gum.• Vitamin C is also important for healthy gums.• She was always laughing, and her gums were all pink and wet and shiny.• He champed on his gum in time to the music, and kept a poker-faced expression.• The forests are mostly mixes of loblolly pine and sweet gum, with a holly and huckleberry understory.• The gum looks clear over them and they will soon be through.gumgum2 verb (gummed, gumming) [transitive always + adverb/preposition] British English old-fashionedSTICK to stick things together using glue SYN gluegum something to something A large label had been gummed to the back of the photograph. → gum something ↔ up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
gum• The Crows thought long hair was fashionable, and sometimes gummed horsetails into it to increase its length.• Any post office receipts for registered mail should be gummed into a special book kept for that purpose. 5.• The theory is that his balky digestion -- gummed up by too much fruit -- will now return to normal.• Her mouth was gummed up from licking too many envelopes, and she needed a cup of coffee.• It can gum up the intestine or cause acute appendicitis.• It is a good idea to open and close valves every so often to make sure that they don't get gummed up.• My release is getting all gummed up.Origin gum1 1. Old English goma2. (1300-1400) Old French gomme, from Greek kommi, from Egyptian qmy.t3. (1800-1900) God 