gum up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Big banks’ profit engines are humming along even as geopolitics keep threatening to gum up the works.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
In part, that’s because of how easy it’s become to gum up the Senate.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
“Making it easier and less costly for insurers to deny claims, or for patients to file potentially dubious claims, could further gum up an already overloaded system rather than smoothing out the process.”
From MarketWatch • Oct. 21, 2025
Although it doesn’t gum up the works, why keep Harpagon as a male character, for example, and make Cleante a female one?
From New York Times • May 3, 2024
Their noses drip, their throats gum up, their eyes are rimmed with red.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
