GUM, noun The hard fleshy substance of the jaws which invests the teeth.

GUM, noun [Latin gummi.] The mucilage of vegetables; a concrete juice which exudes through the bark of trees, and thickens on the surface. It is soluble in water, to which it gives a viscous and adhesive quality. It is insoluble in alcohol, and coagulates in weak acids. When dry, it is transparent and brittle, not easily pulverized, and of an insipid or slightly saccharine taste. gum differs from resin in several particulars, but custom has inaccurately given the name of gum to several resins and gum-resins, as gum-copal. gum-sandarach, gum-ammoniac, and others. The true gums are gumarabic, gum-senegal, gum-tragacanth, and the gums of the peach, plum and cherry trees, etc.

GUM-elastic, or Elastic-gum, [caoutchouc, ] is a singular substance, obtained from a tree in America by incision. It is a white juice, which, when dry, becomes very tough and elastic, and is used for bottles, surgical instruments, etc.

GUM, verb transitive To smear with gum

1. To unite by a viscous substance.