spam

 
Pronunciation: /spam/

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to large numbers of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc..
  • unwanted or intrusive advertising on the Internet: [as modifier]: an autogenerated spam website
  • 2 (Spam) trademark a tinned meat product made mainly from ham.

verb

[with object]
  • send the same message indiscriminately to (a large numbers of Internet users).

Derivatives

spammer

noun

Origin:

1930s: apparently from sp(iced h)am. The Internet sense appears to derive from a sketch by the British ‘Monty Python’ comedy group, set in a cafe in which every item on the menu includes spam