spam

Everyday

1. Spam is unwanted messages sent to many people at once, usually emails or texts trying to sell something or trick you. tree →
2. To spam means to send lots of unwanted messages, or to post the same thing again and again. tree →
3. Spam is a brand of tinned cooked pork meat. tree →

In the lessons

In online safety lessons spam often hides scams and phishing links: do not click, do not reply, report or delete it. Email programs have a spam folder or junk folder. In games and chats, spamming means flooding the chat or using the same move again and again. Spam (the meat) is a tinned food from the USA, famous in wartime Britain.

Examples

• My email filter sent the message to the spam folder. tree →
• Never click links in spam. tree →
• Stop spamming the chat with emojis! tree →
• He kept spamming the same attack in the game. tree →
• The spam said I had won a prize, but it was a trick. tree →
• Grandad remembers eating Spam sandwiches. tree →
• Report the account if it sends spam. tree →

Note

Spam (messages) is uncountable: some spam, a lot of spam, a spam email. The verb doubles m: spammed, spamming. Spam with a capital S is the meat brand. A spammer is a person who sends spam.