gum

/gəm/

/gəm/

Other forms: gums; gummed; gumming

Gum is a sticky substance that oozes out of a tree or another plant, and chewing gum is the stuff you blow bubbles with or stick under your desk. Yuck.

Natural gum has many uses, including as a thickener in food products. Chewing gum, however, has only one real use: it's made to be chewed but not swallowed. This kind of gum often has a fruity or minty flavor, and can sometimes be blown into bubbles. When you gum something up, you clog or block it — or you make it sticky. Completely different gums are the soft flesh inside your mouth where your teeth are rooted.

Definitions of gum

1. noun

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

   liquidambar, sweet gum

   aromatic exudate from the sweet gum tree

   eucalyptus gum, eucalyptus kino, red gum

   reddish-brown dried gummy exudation from any of several trees of the genus Eucalyptus especially Eucalyptus camaldulensis

   balata, gutta balata

   when dried yields a hard substance used e.g. in golf balls

   ammoniac, gum ammoniac

   the aromatic gum of the ammoniac plant

   carrageenan, carrageenin

   a colloidal extract from carrageen seaweed and other red algae

   conima

   a gum resin from the poison hemlock, Conium maculatum

   dragon's blood

   a dark red resinous substance derived from various trees and used in photoengraving

   euphorbium, gum eurphorbium

   an acrid brown gum resin now used mainly in veterinary medicine

   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

   galbanum, gum albanum

   a bitter aromatic gum resin that resembles asafetida

   ghatti, ghatti gum

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

   agar, agar-agar

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

   algin, alginic acid

   a gum used especially as a thickener or emulsifier

   cherry-tree gum

   exudation from trees of the Prunus genus; resembles gum arabic

   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

   Senegal gum

   gum arabic from the vicinity of the Senegal river

   type of:

   exudate, exudation

   a substance that oozes out from plant pores
2. noun

   a preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing
   synonyms: chewing gum

   types:

   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

   type of:

   confection, sweet

   a food rich in sugar
3. noun

   cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive
   synonyms: glue, mucilage

   types:

   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

   type of:

   cement

   something that hardens to act as adhesive material
4. noun

   any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar or Nyssa that are sources of gum
   synonyms: gum tree

   types:

   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

   American sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, bilsted, red gum, sweet gum, sweet gum tree

   a North American tree of the genus Liquidambar having prickly spherical fruit clusters and fragrant sap

   flooded gum

   any of several Australian gum trees growing on moist or alluvial soil

   mallee

   any of several low-growing Australian eucalypts

   stringybark

   any of several Australian eucalypts having fibrous inner bark

   smoothbark

   any of several Australian eucalypts having the bark smooth except at or near the base of the trunk

   Eucalyptus amygdalina, peppermint, peppermint gum, red gum

   red gum tree of Tasmania

   Eucalyptus calophylla, marri, red gum

   very large red gum tree

   Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus rostrata, river gum, river red gum

   somewhat crooked red gum tree growing chiefly along rivers; has durable reddish lumber used in heavy construction

   Eucalyptus camphora, mountain swamp gum

   medium-sized swamp gum of New South Wales and Victoria

   Eucalyptus coriacea, Eucalyptus pauciflora, ghost gum, snow gum, white ash

   small to medium-sized tree of Australia and Tasmania having smooth white to light-grey bark shedding in patches or strips

   Eucalyptus delegatensis, alpine ash, mountain oak

   tall timber tree with hard heavy pinkish or light brown wood

   Eucalyptus fraxinoides, white mountain ash

   large tree with dark compact bark on lower trunk but smooth and white above; yields lumber similar to that of European or American ashes

   Eucalyptus globulus, blue gum, fever tree

   tall fast-growing timber tree with leaves containing a medicinal oil; young leaves are bluish

   Eucalypt ovata, swamp gum

   medium-sized tree of southern Australia

   Eucalyptus maculata, spotted gum

   large gum tree with mottled bark

   Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus maculata citriodora, lemon-scented gum

   similar to but smaller than the spotted gum and having lemon-scented leaves

   Eucalyptus regnans, mountain ash

   tree having wood similar to the alpine ash; tallest tree in Australia and tallest hardwood in the world

   Eucalyptus viminalis, manna gum

   tall tree yielding a false manna

   Nyssa aquatica, water gum

   columnar swamp tree of southeastern to midwestern North America yielding pale soft easily worked wood

   Nyssa sylvatica, black gum, pepperidge, sour gum

   columnar tree of eastern North America having horizontal limbs and small leaves that emerge late in spring and have brilliant color in early fall

   type of:

   tree

   a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
5. noun

   wood or lumber from any of various gum trees especially the sweet gum
   synonyms: gumwood

   types:

   hazelwood, red gum, satin walnut, sweet gum

   reddish-brown wood and lumber from heartwood of the sweet gum tree used to make furniture

   type of:

   wood

   the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
6. verb

   cover, fill, fix or smear with or as if with gum
   “if you gum the tape it is stronger”

   type of:

   apply, put on

   apply to a surface
7. verb

   become sticky
   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
8. verb

   exude or form gum
   “these trees gum in the Spring”

   type of:

   exudate, exude, ooze, ooze out, transude

   release (a liquid) in drops or small quantities
9. noun

   the tissue (covered by mucous membrane) of the jaws that surrounds the bases of the teeth
   synonyms: gingiva

   type of:

   animal tissue

   the tissue in the bodies of animals
10. verb

    grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty
    synonyms: mumble

    type of:

    chew, jaw, manducate, masticate

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