ram

[ram]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ram ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a male sheep.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign of Aries.

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

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

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

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

a piston, as on a hydraulic press.

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

hydraulic ram.

verb (used with object), rammed, ram·ming.

to drive or force by heavy blows.

to strike with great force; dash violently against: The car went out of control and rammed the truck.

to cram; stuff: They rammed the gag in his mouth.

to push firmly: to ram a bill through the Senate.

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

Origin of ram

before 900; Middle English: male sheep, machine for ramming, Old English ram(m); cognate with Dutch, Low German ram, German Ramme; (v.) Middle English rammen, derivative of the noun; compare Old High German rammen

Related formsram·like, adjectiveun·rammed, adjective

Synonyms for ram

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ram ON THESAURUS.COM

10. jam, thrust, beat, hammer.

ram

[ram]

Australian.

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

Origin of ram

1940–45; origin obscure; British criminal argot ramp swindle (earlier, as v.: snatch, tear) is a phonetically implausible source

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.

Compare ROM.

Origin of RAM

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

Can be confusedRAM ROM

RAM

reverse annuity mortgage.

R.A.M.

Royal Academy of Music.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ram

smash, crash, slam, stab, sink, thrust, cram, wedge, pound, force, crowd, dash, hook, hit, hammer, impact, poke, strike, plunge, run

Examples from the Web for ram

Contemporary Examples of ram

Where and when and why did Russ meet Ram Dass, for goodness sakes?
The Great Russ Hemenway
Michael Tomasky
March 3, 2014
And then the ram is caught by its horns in the bush and is sacrificed instead.
The American Prophet of Delusion: Robert Stone in Conversation
David Samuels
November 15, 2013
They wanted to ram that fact down the throat of would-be rivals, like the Russians, and even longtime friends, like the French.
How to Stop Iran: Obama's War By Other Means
Christopher Dickey
September 28, 2013
Sales of the Ram Truck line were up 29 percent year over year, whiles sales of the Dodge Durango SUV were up 117 percent.
U.S. Car Sales Roar in August
William O’Connor
September 4, 2013
Encouraged by this success, Audi, Grand Cherokee and Ram all have plans to launch diesel vehicles going forward.
July was the Greenest Month Ever for U.S. Car Sales
Anna Batchelor
August 6, 2013

Historical Examples of ram

And they'll ram Truth down your throat till you're sick of it.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
One man got his family into a boat to go to Ram Island for safety.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
He raised the fence-rail again and made as if to ram the door.
The Inn at the Red Oak
Latta Griswold
He tried to ram the German ship with the stern of his ship, but failed in the attempt.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
Then I went down and got that constable and he come and executed on that ram.
Chit-Chat; Nirvana; The Searchlight
Mathew Joseph Holt

British Dictionary definitions for ram

ram

noun

an uncastrated adult sheep

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

the falling weight of a pile driver or similar device

short for battering ram

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

a warship equipped with a ram

slang a sexually active man

verb rams, ramming or rammed

(tr usually foll by into) to force or drive, as by heavy blowsto ram a post into the ground

(of a moving object) to crash with force (against another object) or (of two moving objects) to collide in this waythe ships rammed the enemy

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

(tr ; foll by onto, against etc) to thrust violentlyhe rammed the books onto the desk

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

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

Derived Formsrammer, noun

Word Origin for ram

Old English ramm; related to Old High German ram ram, Old Norse ramr fierce, rimma to fight

Ram

noun

the Ram the constellation Aries, the first sign of the zodiac

RAM

n acronym for computing

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

RAM

abbreviation for

Royal Academy of Music

r.a.m.

abbreviation for

relative atomic mass

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

Word Origin and History for ram

Old English ramm "male sheep," also "battering ram" and the zodiac sign; earlier rom "male sheep," a West Germanic word (cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Old High German ram), of unknown origin. Perhaps [Klein] connected with Old Norse rammr "strong," Old Church Slavonic ramenu "impetuous, violent."

RAM

1957, acronym for random access memory (computerese).

"to beat with a heavy implement," c.1300, from ram (n.). Related: Rammed; ramming.

ram in Science

RAM

[răm]

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. See also dynamic RAM static RAM.

ram in Culture

RAM

Acronym for random access memory, 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.)

Note

hard drives on a computer are an example of RAM.