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# lam

noun (on the lam); verb (lam, lams, lammed, lamming)

«lam» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (slang, US) To be «on the lam» is to be running away and hiding, usually from the police. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#m1)
2. (informal, UK) To lam someone is to hit them hard. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#m2)
3. (a name) Lam is also a family name, for example in Chinese and Vietnamese families. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#m3)

### In the lessons

Met in crime stories, old films and detective books: «on the lam» tells the reader a character has escaped and is hiding. The hitting sense is old-fashioned and rare.

### Examples

- The robber has been on the lam for three weeks. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#x1)
- The detective found the thief who was on the lam. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#x2)
- The escaped prisoners went on the lam in the hills. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#x3)
- «Lam into him!» shouted the pirate in the old story. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#x4)
- Mr Lam is our new maths teacher. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#x5)
- After the jewel heist, the gang went on the lam. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/#x6)

### Note

Mostly used in the fixed phrase «on the lam». Past form: lammed. Do not confuse with «lamb» (a young sheep), which sounds the same but has a silent b.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «lam» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lam/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«lam» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/lam.html) on Mova free.