Meanings
alternative jekem
- uncountableA purported hallucinogenic inhalant made from fermented sewage.
When they cannot afford glue or are too scared to steal petrol, these youngsters turn to Jenkem as a way of getting high.
1999 July 30, Ishbel Matheson, “Children high on sewage”, in BBC News2 more examples
The hotel garden shrieked with bird life, and there were crocodiles in the courtyard pond; the fountains on either end of Cairo Road blustered with fresh water, and the street children were mad-eyed (those who can afford it sniff glue or gasoline, and those who can't sniff jenkem, fermented human sewage kept in a plastic bag for a week or so until it gives off intoxicating fumes).
2005 September, Alexandra Fuller, “We Just Want Enough”, in National Geographic, →ISSNBilly: You want some Jenkem? It'll make you all better. Sure, it's a natural remedy! Huff on this! Stan: What's in it? Billy: My body waste, silly.
2012 March 25, Less Money, Mo' Problems (American Dad!), season 8, episode 15
Origin
From Genkem (itself from General Chemical), a brand of glue similarly sniffed as a drug in South Africa.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
jenkem. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jenkem
“jenkem.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jenkem. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jenkem,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jenkem.
Source: jenkem on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.