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.

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rum ² American  

[ruhm] / rʌm /

adjective

Chiefly British Informal.

1. odd, strange, or queer.

   a rum fellow.

2. problematic; difficult; bad.

   a rum situation.

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rum ³ American  

[ruhm] / rʌm /

noun

Cards.

1. rummy.

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Rum ⁴ American  

[room] / rum /

noun

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

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Rum. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Rumania. See Romania.

2. Rumanian. See Romanian. Also Rum

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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

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rum ² British  

/ rʌm /

adjective

1. slang strange; peculiar; odd

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rum ³ British  

/ rʌm /

noun

1. short for rummy 1

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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

“You’re telling me you like rum raisin as much as double chocolate fudge?”

From Literature

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

Its exports are largely limited to cigars, rum, nickel and cobalt.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From Barron's

The easiest way to make a non-boozy Piña Colada is to take out the rum.

From Salon