Idiom idiom
ham it up
Meaning
To deliberately exaggerate one's emotions or movements, or to overact or act hammily.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He likes to ham it up when he tells funny stories.”
“The actor decided to ham it up during the comedy scene, making the audience laugh out loud.”
“Although the director requested a subtle performance, the lead actor could not resist the urge to ham it up for the cameras.”
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Last updated August 10, 2026