"on the lam" meaning in English

See on the lam in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Audio: En-au-on the lam.ogg
Etymology: From lam (“flight, escape”). Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} on the lam (not comparable)
  1. Running away, usually from the police; on the run. Tags: not-comparable Related terms: take it on the lam Translations (running away; on the run): a fume de carozo (Galician), á fuga (Galician), auf der Flucht (German), в бега́х (v begáx) (Russian), på fri fot (Swedish)

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_text": "From lam (“flight, escape”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "on the lam (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
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          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
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        },
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Galician translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2004, Nintendo EAD, Pikmin 2, Nintendo, space e-mail",
          "text": "The President: 'Hello... I am still on the lam from debt collectors.'",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Howie Carr, The Brothers Bulger:",
          "text": "Their top hitman, Joe Russo, was on the lam after murdering Joe Barboza in San Francisco.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 September 15, “Vietnam: A Tiger at Bay”, in The Economist:",
          "text": "There have been more bank runs, executives on the lam, arrests and credit panics than the country has seen in years.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 November 25, Fred Weir, “In shifting world, post-Soviet states look back to a constant: Russia”, in The Christian Science Monitor:",
          "text": "Charges of Russian meddling, including allegations of vote-buying by a Moldovan oligarch on the lam in Russia, could have substance.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Running away, usually from the police; on the run."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_lam-en-adj-bKalQ5fx",
      "links": [
        [
          "away",
          "away"
        ],
        [
          "police",
          "police"
        ],
        [
          "on the run",
          "on the run"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "take it on the lam"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "running away; on the run",
          "word": "a fume de carozo"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "running away; on the run",
          "word": "á fuga"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "running away; on the run",
          "word": "auf der Flucht"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "v begáx",
          "sense": "running away; on the run",
          "word": "в бега́х"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "running away; on the run",
          "word": "på fri fot"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-on the lam.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/2d/En-au-on_the_lam.ogg/En-au-on_the_lam.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/En-au-on_the_lam.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on the lam"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "From lam (“flight, escape”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "on the lam (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "take it on the lam"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
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        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
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        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncomparable adjectives",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Galician translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2004, Nintendo EAD, Pikmin 2, Nintendo, space e-mail",
          "text": "The President: 'Hello... I am still on the lam from debt collectors.'",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Howie Carr, The Brothers Bulger:",
          "text": "Their top hitman, Joe Russo, was on the lam after murdering Joe Barboza in San Francisco.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 September 15, “Vietnam: A Tiger at Bay”, in The Economist:",
          "text": "There have been more bank runs, executives on the lam, arrests and credit panics than the country has seen in years.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 November 25, Fred Weir, “In shifting world, post-Soviet states look back to a constant: Russia”, in The Christian Science Monitor:",
          "text": "Charges of Russian meddling, including allegations of vote-buying by a Moldovan oligarch on the lam in Russia, could have substance.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Running away, usually from the police; on the run."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "away",
          "away"
        ],
        [
          "police",
          "police"
        ],
        [
          "on the run",
          "on the run"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-on the lam.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/2d/En-au-on_the_lam.ogg/En-au-on_the_lam.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/En-au-on_the_lam.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "running away; on the run",
      "word": "a fume de carozo"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "running away; on the run",
      "word": "á fuga"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "running away; on the run",
      "word": "auf der Flucht"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "v begáx",
      "sense": "running away; on the run",
      "word": "в бега́х"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "running away; on the run",
      "word": "på fri fot"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on the lam"
}

Download raw JSONL data for on the lam meaning in English (2.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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