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Synonyms

rum

1 American  
[ruhm] / rʌm /

noun

  1. an alcoholic liquor or spirit distilled from molasses or some other fermented sugar-cane product.

  2. alcoholic drink in general; intoxicating liquor.

    He warned against the demon rum.
rum 2 American  
[ruhm] / rʌm /

adjective

Chiefly British Informal.

  1. odd, strange, or queer.

    a rum fellow.

  2. problematic; difficult; bad.

    a rum situation.
rum 3 American  
[ruhm] / rʌm /

noun

Cards.

  1. rummy.

Rum 4 American  
[room] / rum /

noun

  1. Arabic name of Rome, once used to designate the Byzantine Empire.

Rum. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Rumania. See Romania.

  2. Rumanian. See Romanian. Also Rum

rum 1 British  
/ rʌm /

noun

  1. spirit made from sugar cane, either coloured brownish-red by the addition of caramel or by maturation in oak containers, or left white

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rum 2 British  
/ rʌm /

adjective

  1. slang strange; peculiar; odd

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rum 3 British  
/ rʌm /

noun

  1. short for rummy 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • rumless adjective
  • rumly adverb
  • rumness noun

Etymology

Origin of rum1

First recorded in 1645–55; perhaps short for obsolete rumbullion, rumbustion, of obscure origin

Origin of rum2

First recorded in 1750–60; earlier rome, room “great,” of uncertain origin; perhaps from Romani; Rom

Origin of rum3

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; by shortening

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.

The Bamboo Room, a smaller bar within the sprawling Chicago tiki oasis Three Dots and a Dash, attracts a regular crowd of devotees who love its rum flights and elevated takes on tiki classics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

The Browns had a hand in everything from ironmaking and rum distilling to whaling and the slave trade.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

There I was, standing in front of a counter full of various flavors — caramel, cheese cake, carrot cake, rum & raisin.

From Salon • Jan. 10, 2026

At its Indian-inspired sister bar, Bagheera, order the Elephant’s Child, made with a toasted rice- infused rum.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

“So you’ll be the red currant rum, Minister.”

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.