Spam

(noun) Unsolicited commercial e-mail sent to numerous addressees or newsgroups.

(verb) To disseminate unsolicited commercial e-mail to a large number of recipients.

Discussion
Spam, as well as being a trademark of the Hormel Foods Corporation for deviled luncheon meat spread, is an Internet term that describes mass, unsolicited advertising or solicitations through e-mail, Usenet postings or other online means.

The term is believed to have derived from a Monty Python comedy sketch regarding a restaurant in which every item on the menu includes Spam. In the sketch, a waitress recites the menu to a customer, “Spam” is repeated over and over. Similarly, a spam posting to a number of Usenet newsgroups may appear repeatedly to persons who subscribe to multiple newsgroups.

The quantity of spamming has increased dramatically over the last few years. In 2005, Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act in an effort to regulate spam.