ham it up

verb

To deliberately exaggerate one's emotions or movements, or to overact or act hammily.

“Near-synonym: camp it up”

Similar
hamchew the scenerymelodramatizeoveracttear a catcamp it upoverplay
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Meanings

verbham it up (third-person singular simple present hams it up, present participle hamming it up, simple past and past participle hammed it up)

present singular third person hams it up · participle present hamming it up · participle past hammed it up · past hammed it up · alternative ham up

  1. idiomaticactingTo deliberately exaggerate one's emotions or movements, or to overact or act hammily.

    Near-synonym: camp it up

    1 more example

    You can count on him to ham it up for the camera.

    Synonyms: ham, chew the scenery, melodramatize, overact, tear a cat, camp it up

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo deliberately exaggerate one's emotions or movements, or to overact or act hammily.

Similar
hamchew the scenerymelodramatizeoveracttear a catcamp it up

More synonyms by meaning

verbexaggerate one's acting

Similar
overacthamoverplay
Broader
actplayroleplay
Also see
camp it upchew the sceneryhammelodramatizeoveractoverplaytear a cat

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 有意誇張 /有意夸张, 表演過火 /表演过火
  • 有意誇張 /有意夸张 (yǒuyì kuāzhāng)performing arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
  • 表演過火 /表演过火 (biǎoyǎn guòhuǒ)performing arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Dutch met opzet overdrijven
  • met opzet overdrijvenperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Finnish ylinäytellä, liioitella
  • ylinäytelläperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
  • liioitellaperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
French cabotiner
  • cabotinerperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
German zu dick auftragen
  • zu dick auftragenperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Hungarian megjátssza magát
  • megjátssza magátperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Polish odgrywać przesadnie, odegrać przesadnie
  • odgrywać przesadnieperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
  • odegrać przesadnieperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Portuguese exagerar (na atuação)
  • exagerar (na atuação)performing arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Russian переи́грывать, переигра́ть
  • переи́грывать (pereígryvatʹ)performing arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
  • переигра́ть (pereigrátʹ)performing arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Spanish sobreactuar, dramatizar
  • sobreactuarperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
  • dramatizarperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Swedish spela över
  • spela överperforming arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements
Cite this entry
APA

ham it up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ham%20it%20up

MLA

“ham it up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ham%20it%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ham it up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ham%20it%20up.

Source: ham it up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.