ram
/ɹæm/ noun, verb, adjective, proper noun
Also a form of Rama
Forms rams ramming rammed the Ram
- noun (zoology, agriculture) A male sheep, typically uncastrated.
- noun A battering ram; a heavy object used for breaking through doors.
- noun (military, nautical, chiefly historical) A warship intended to sink other ships by ramming them.
- noun (military, nautical, chiefly historical) A reinforced section of the bow of a warship, intended to be used for ramming other ships.
- noun A piston powered by hydraulic pressure.
- noun An act of ramming.
- noun A weight which strikes a blow, in a ramming device such as a pile driver, steam hammer, or stamp mill.
- verb (ambitransitive) To collide with (an object), usually with the intention of damaging it or disabling its function. “The man, driving an SUV, then rammed the gate, according to police.”
- verb (transitive) To strike (something) hard, especially with an implement. “To build a sturdy fence, you have to ram the posts deep into the ground.”
- verb (transitive) To seat a cartridge, projectile, or propellant charge in the breech of a firearm by pushing or striking. “After placing the cartridge in the musket, ram it down securely with the ramrod.”
- verb (transitive, also figuratively) To force, cram or thrust (someone or something) into or through something. “I quickly rammed another charge down the barrel and took aim.”
- verb (transitive) To fill or compact by pounding or driving. “They rammed the earth walls to make them more compact”
- verb (slang) To thrust during sexual intercourse.
- adjective (Northern England) Rancid; offensive in smell or taste.
- proper noun (astronomy, astrology) The constellation and zodiac sign Aries.
- proper noun (UK, soccer) Someone connected with Derby County Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- proper noun (biblical) The father of Amminadab and the son of Hezron.
- proper noun A male given name.
- proper noun A surname
- proper noun One of the two progenitors of the second generation of humans in Mandaeism.
Synonyms
random-access memory random access memory random memory read/write memory Aries Aries the Ram tup ram down pound force drive crash jam jampack chock up cram wad
Etymology
From Middle English ram, rom, ramme, from Old English ramm (“ram”), from Proto-Germanic *rammaz (“ram”), possibly from *rammaz (“strong”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Rom (“ram”), Dutch ram (“a male sheep”), German Ramm, Ramme (“ram”). Possibly akin also to Danish ram (“sharp; acrid; rank”), Swedish ram (“strong; perfect”), Faroese ramur (“strong; competent”), Icelandic rammur (“strong; sturdy”).
From Middle English rammen, from the noun (see above). Compare Old High German rammen.
Likely from Old Norse ramr, rammr (“strong, rank, bitter”), from Proto-Germanic *rammaz (“strong, overbearing; acrid, rank”), perhaps ultimately related to Etymology 1 above. Compare Scots ram (“a rank odour”). Compare also Middle English rammish (“rank, offensive in smell”).
From ram, the animal the constellation is figured as. Football sense, the animal of the mascot for the sports team.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The male of the sheep and allied animals. In some parts of England a ram is called a tup.
- noun (a) Aries, the sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of March.
- verb To butt or strike against; to drive a ram against or through; to thrust or drive with violence; to force in; to drive together; to cram; as, to ram an enemy's vessel; to ram piles, cartridges, etc. [They] rammed me in with foul shirts, and smocks, socks, foul stockings, greasy napkins. Shak.
- verb To fill or compact by pounding or driving.
Etymology [AS. ramm, ram; akin to OHG. & D. ram, Prov. G. ramm, and perh. to Icel. ramr strong.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ram”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details