hammed it up

VERB

be theatrical

Synonyms

WEAK

burlesque caricature chew up the scenery emote ham overact theatricalize travesty

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

During a six-week election campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon traveled the country and hammed it up for the cameras.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 13, 2023

We don’t know if Nguyễn Phú Trọng, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was briefed on the age discussion in advance, but he really hammed it up for the press.

From Slate • Sep. 11, 2023

The event felt like a Cold War proxy battle, Green said, but instead of getting angry, he hammed it up for the audience and coaxed laughs out of crowds.

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2022

During her interview on "Fox & Friends Weekend" about her video, this same young son hammed it up for viewers and practically threw another tantrum right on live TV.

From Fox News • Jan. 17, 2022

Slopper hammed it up a bit, trying to mimic and trying to pretend that wasn’t the case.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline