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• ram
  ram

  noun

  a male sheep.
• RAM
  RAM

  noun

  random-access memory; computer memory available to the user for creating, loading, or running programs and for the temporary storage and manipulation of data, in which time of access to each item is independent of the storage sequence. As a storage medium, RAM is volatile, so its contents are lost when the power fails or is turned off.
• R.A.M.
  R.A.M.

  abbreviation

  Royal Academy of Music.
• Ram
  Ram

  noun

  the constellation Aries, the first sign of the zodiac
• r.a.m.
  r.a.m.

  abbreviation

  relative atomic mass

ram

¹ American  

[ram] / ræm /

noun

1. a male sheep.

2. Astronomy, Astrology. Aries, the constellation or sign of Aries.

3. any of various devices for battering, crushing, driving, or forcing something, especially a battering ram.

4. (formerly) a heavy beak or spur projecting from the bow of a warship for penetrating the hull of an enemy's ship.

5. (formerly) a warship so equipped, especially one used primarily for ramming enemy vessels.

6. the heavy weight that strikes the blow in a pile driver or the like.

7. a piston, as on a hydraulic press.

8. a reciprocating part of certain machine tools, as the toolholder of a slotter or shaper.

9. hydraulic ram.

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verb (used with object)

rams, present (3rd person singular) rammed, past participle, past ramming present participle

1. to drive or force by heavy blows.

   Synonyms:

   hammer, beat, thrust, jam

2. to strike with great force; dash violently against.

   The car went out of control and rammed the truck.

3. to cram; stuff.

   They rammed the gag into his mouth.

4. to push firmly.

   to ram a bill through the Senate.

5. to force (a charge) into a firearm, as with a ramrod.

ram ² American  

[ram] / ræm /

noun

Australian, Now Rare.

1. a confidence man's associate who acts as a decoy; confederate; shill.

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RAM ³ American  

[ram] / ræm /

noun

1. random-access memory; computer memory available to the user for creating, loading, or running programs and for the temporary storage and manipulation of data, in which time of access to each item is independent of the storage sequence. As a storage medium, RAM is volatile, so its contents are lost when the power fails or is turned off.

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RAM ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. reverse annuity mortgage.

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R.A.M. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Royal Academy of Music.

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ram ¹ British  

/ ræm /

noun

1. an uncastrated adult sheep

2. a piston or moving plate, esp one driven hydraulically or pneumatically

3. the falling weight of a pile driver or similar device

4. short for battering ram

5. Also called: rostrum.   beak.  a pointed projection in the stem of an ancient warship for puncturing the hull of enemy ships

6. a warship equipped with a ram

7. slang a sexually active man

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verb

1. to force or drive, as by heavy blows

   to ram a post into the ground

2. (of a moving object) to crash with force (against another object) or (of two moving objects) to collide in this way

   the ships rammed the enemy

3. (tr; often foll by in or down) to stuff or cram (something into a hole, etc)

4. (tr; foll by onto, against etc) to thrust violently

   he rammed the books onto the desk

5. (tr) to present (an idea, argument, etc) forcefully or aggressively (esp in the phrase ram ( something ) down someone's throat )

6. (tr) to drive (a charge) into a firearm

Ram ² British  

/ ræm /

noun

1. the constellation Aries, the first sign of the zodiac

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RAM ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Royal Academy of Music

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RAM ⁴ British  

/ ræm /

acronym

1. random access memory: semiconductor memory in which all storage locations can be rapidly accessed in the same amount of time. It forms the main memory of a computer, used by applications to perform tasks while the device is operating

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r.a.m. ⁵ British  

abbreviation

1. relative atomic mass

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RAM Scientific  

/ răm /

1. Short for random access memory. The main memory of a computer, in which data can be stored or retrieved from all locations at the same (usually very high) speed.

2. See also dynamic RAM static RAM

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RAM Cultural  

1. Acronym for r andom a ccess m emory, which is a type of memory in which a reader can go to a specific item without having to start at the beginning. Random access memories can often be altered once an item is found. (See computer memory and magnetic memory storage; compare ROM.)

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Discover More

hard drives on a computer are an example of RAM.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rammer
  noun
• ramlike
  adjective
• unrammed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• ramming
  present
• rammed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ram
  simple
• rams
  simple
• have rammed
  perfect
• has rammed
  perfect
• am ramming
  progressive
• are ramming
  progressive
• is ramming
  progressive
• have been ramming
  perfect progressive
• has been ramming
  perfect progressive

Past

• rammed
  simple
• had rammed
  perfect
• was ramming
  progressive
• were ramming
  progressive
• had been ramming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ram
  simple
• will have rammed
  perfect
• will be ramming
  progressive
• will have been ramming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ram¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun ram, ram(m)e “male sheep, machine for ramming,” Old English ramm, romm; cognate with Dutch, Low German ram, German Ramme; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of ram²

First recorded in 1940–45; origin obscure; possibly from British criminal argot ramp “swindle”

Origin of RAM³

r(andom)-a(ccess) m(emory)

Explanation

A male sheep or goat is called a ram. If you're a fan of reading your horoscope, you might notice that Aries, usually considered the first sign of the zodiac, is represented by a ram. Another kind of ram is a "battering ram," a tool for forcing a heavy door open or breaking a hole in a wall. This kind of ram comes from the male sheep and his powerful horns — and so does the verb ram: "I watched the rams ram their heads into each other as they battled over territory." Some word experts think the word stems from the Old Norse rammr, "strong."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ram RAM R.A.M. Ram rams rammed ramming

Beginning with tobacco, they refitted the dusty doctrine as a battering ram and swung it at guns, lead paint, opioids and oil companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Lyndon Dykes is a battering ram, but Gabriel and Marquinhos have seen his sort before in their storied careers.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Astronomers have already found evidence that ram pressure stripping is affecting M88 today.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

Internet access took a battering ram to information’s door, sending dizzying amounts of data our way overnight.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

At the ram his big red reared but the black stallion leapt the obstacle smoothly and Ser Mandon flashed past him, death in snow-white silk.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

“That’s why we don’t have RAM anymore?” one user commented.

From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026

Mac Minis with 32GB or 64GB RAM are unavailable, while other Mini and Studio models have wait times up to 12 weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

MacBook Pro models with less RAM ship sooner, and almost all other Mac models we reviewed on Apple.com will arrive just days after they’re ordered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Security is anchored in a proprietary protocol and server technology that runs entirely in RAM to ensure all data is wiped upon reboot.

From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2026

Why was Bobbie Lyles importing ridiculous amounts of data into her home, into her back bedroom, specifically; way more data than that crappy desktop dinosaur PC with its half a gigabyte of RAM could handle?

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

He had been working on a paper about R.A.M., the genetic marker that Andrew had.

From New York Times ● May 12, 2016

We admire the enthusiasm of Mr. Ricketts for Velasquez, and his analysis is second to none save R.A.M.

From Promenades of an Impressionist by Huneker, James

Written and composed by James C. Beazley, R.A.M.—There is no such title as R.A.M.

From The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 355, October 16, 1886 by Peters, Charles

L.S.T. and R.A.M. are one and the same thing.

From Lectures in Navigation by Draper, Ernest Gallaudet

As a counterblast to his theory of impersonality let us quote a few lines from R.A.M.

From Promenades of an Impressionist by Huneker, James

The loopholes have been glaring at the Ram temple, with the accused reportedly taking advantage of weak counting processes and surveillance lapses.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

Ram Trucks released an ad this year called “In Loud We Trust.”

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

Video of the confrontation appears to show Nelson idling in a snowy strip mall parking lot in his gray Dodge Ram when another driver in an even larger pickup pulls in beside him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Authorities at the grand temple to Hindu god Ram in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya have announced a leadership overhaul after allegations that tens of millions of rupees received in donations have been stolen.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

Mr. Ram used to recite things to me when he was in a good mood as though he was giving me gifts.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

That also explains why, and how, his devoted rams, lambs and ewes are able to dedicate themselves to solving his murder.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

Firemen could be seen smashing in a window with battering rams and helping people climb out from inside in videos shared on social media.

From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026

"We don't have the means to pay for her studies," she explained from their home's back courtyard, where young children capered about and two rams watched from an enclosure.

From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026

At the opposite extreme is Scotland's Soay sheep, with just 0.6% full siblings because each ewe mates with multiple rams.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2026

Great siege engines lined the grassy verge of the roseroad, mangonels and trebu- chets and rolling rams mounted on wheels taller than a man on horseback.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Raducanu broke Jovic's serve in the fourth game with a blistering forehand and rammed home her advantage by holding serve with another rasping shot into the corner of the court.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

“They said I, quote unquote, rammed federal agents,” she said at a congressional hearing in February.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

Murillo claimed he was rammed; prosecutors said the collision happened at less than 10 miles per hour and was “more of a jolt.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026

The only visible law enforcement presence is a police car rammed across the driveway, signaling the limits of encroachment, like an invisible wall in a video game.

From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026

He grabbed the gear lever and rammed it into low.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Jason Plotkin was on a Zoom call in a synagogue on the outskirts of Detroit when he heard the crashing sound of a pickup truck ramming into the building.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

DHS’ McLaughlin accused Arnoldo’s dad of ramming his car “into a federal law enforcement vehicle,” but he was never charged for that, and the videos we reviewed do not support this claim.

From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2026

A crowd was waiting for Enriquez to hear his game plan: “No ramming, no throwing, no nothing. Just follow and film.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2025

The local police often help deter a ramming incident by parking a car out front, and we benefit from a couple more officers whenever Jared Kushner and family are in attendance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025

She had forced the door to the room open by ramming her big butt into it.

From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore

Related Words

• cram
• crash
• run into
• sink
• slam
• smash
• stab
• thrust