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• dram
  dram
• DRAM
  DRAM

  abbreviation

  dynamic RAM.

dram

¹ American  

[dram] / dræm /

noun

• drams
  plural

1. Measurements.

   1. a unit of apothecaries' weight, equal to 60 grains, or 1/8 (0.125) ounce (3.89 grams).

   2. 1/16 (0.0625) ounce, avoirdupois weight (27.34 grains; 1.77 grams). dr., dr

2. fluid dram.

3. a small drink of liquor.

4. a small quantity of anything.

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verb (used without object)

drammed, dramming

1. Archaic. to drink drams; tipple.

verb (used with object)

drammed, dramming

1. Archaic. to ply with drink.

DRAM ² American  

[dee-ram] / ˈdiˌræm /

abbreviation

Computers.

1. dynamic RAM.

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dram ¹ British  

/ dræm /

noun

1. one sixteenth of an ounce (avoirdupois). 1 dram is equivalent to 0.0018 kilogram

2. Also called: drachm.   drachma.  one eighth of an apothecaries' ounce; 60 grains. 1 dram is equivalent to 0.0039 kilogram

3. a small amount of an alcoholic drink, esp a spirit; tot

4. the standard monetary unit of Armenia, divided into 100 lumas

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DRAM ² British  

/ ˈdiːræm /

acronym

1. dynamic random access memory: a widely used type of random access memory See RAM 1

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noun

1. a chip containing such a memory

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-dram
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• drams
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dram

1400–50; late Middle English dramme, assimilated variant of dragme < Old French < Late Latin dragma, Latin drachma drachma

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dram DRAM drams drammed dramming

Oddly, Sphere’s “Oz” loses a dram of its spellcraft once audiences touch down in Munchkinland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025

It was, after all, an illegal dram shop during Prohibition and the need for secrecy was essential, especially since the queer patrons themselves were breaking the law by openly existing in public.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2025

To him, spirits provided what he called “accessible luxury” to customers — a dram of the good life even in an unstable economy.

From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2023

White has just played 90. b2-b3 when the dram really kicks in.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 9, 2022

I had been on the other side of the river buying a dram of quicksilver and a pouch of sea salt.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Roundhill is clearly betting on even more interest for DRAM.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

UBS analyst Tim Arcuri estimates that such contracts will cover as much as 30% of shipments of total dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, next year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

The Roundhill Memory ETF, ticker DRAM, gathered over $1 billion in assets in less than two weeks after its April 2 launch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

SK Hynix has a narrow lead in dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, with a 34% share of the market as of the third quarter of 2025, beating Micron’s 26%, Counterpoint Research figures say.

From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026

“This is leading to a situation where the vast majority of all new capacity will be fully allocated to HBM,” Arcuri said, referring to high-bandwidth memory that is made by stacking DRAM.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026

Line of Duty launched in 2012 and went on to become one of the most popular TV drams of the last decade.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

“So you have those thoughts. Whatever their drams and goals are, I’m OK with. The ones we are honoring, we know this is their last.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2019

Cullen, 59, recalls the noise it used to make: the clatter of drams packed with coal being raised from the shaft.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 1, 2016

When my turn came, I was placed opposite Depardieu with pints and drams and asked questions in French that were translated into English simultaneously – but barely audibly – via an earpiece.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 1, 2014

I gave her last March two drams of No. 30 pills medicated with the first decimal, or No. 2 preparation, with orders to take ten pills three or four times a day.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Edward Pollock Anshutz

Saul was profoundly conscious of the yoke; only he had not drammed that his own deliverance could come from such a quarter.

From The Making of the New Testament by Benjamin Wisner Bacon

For until the third century no one drammed of understanding the "John" of Rev. i.

From The Making of the New Testament by Benjamin Wisner Bacon

Chance, my dear Bob,—chance is ten times a more intoxicating liquor than champagne, and once take to "dramming" with fortune, and you may bid a long adieu to sobriety!

From The Dodd Family Abroad, Vol. I by Charles James Lever

"I don't like to hear about that dramming business," was Val's comment to me later.

From Up in Ardmuirland by Michael Barrett