ramrod

American  

[ram-rod] / ˈræmˌrɒd /

noun

1. a rod for ramming down the charge of a muzzleloading firearm.

2. a cleaning rod for the barrel of a firearm.

3. a strict disciplinarian; martinet.

---

verb (used with object)

ramrodded, ramrodding

1. to exert discipline and authority on.

2. to strike or injure with or as if with a ramrod.

3. to accomplish or put into action by force, intimidation, etc..

   to ramrod a bill through Congress.

ramrod British  

/ ˈræmˌrɒd /

noun

1. a rod for cleaning the barrel of a rifle or other small firearms

2. a rod for ramming in the charge of a muzzle-loading firearm

---

Etymology

Origin of ramrod

First recorded in 1750–60; ram ¹ + rod

Example Sentences

The soul of the movie is in watching these ramrod opposites bend and intertwine.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2025

What’s grim, however, is that secured creditors like JPMorgan are usually free to ramrod as they please.

From Slate • May 16, 2024

Opposite Corbery, Clément Hervieu-Léger is prissy and repressed as a bewigged Robespierre, with a dancer’s ramrod posture throughout.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2023

In the audience, seated with her parents and two daughters, Joy watched her son speak, ramrod straight in his blue uniform festooned with badges and medals.

From Washington Post • Nov. 2, 2022

Pa kept pouring in more water and washing the gun barrel with the cloth on the ramrod until the water ran out clear.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder