verb
lam
lam
verb
1
To hit or beat someone hard.
"He threatened to lam anyone who touched his bike."
2
To run away or flee, especially from the police.
"The suspect lammed out the back door the moment sirens sounded."
noun
1
An escape or flight, especially from custody or the law — chiefly in the phrase "on the lam."
"He'd been on the lam for six months before they caught him."
How to Use Lam
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither to hit someone hard, or to make a run for it — most commonly heard today in the phrase "on the lam," meaning hiding from the law.
Common pairings
on the lam
lam out of here
Word Forms
lammed past tense, lams plural, lams plural, Lams plural, lams singular
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Etymology
From Middle English lamen/lemen, going back to Old English and Old Norse roots meaning "to make lame" — the "beat" sense came first, and "flee" grew out of underworld slang in the early 1900s.