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.

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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

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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

Mr. Reddick, a classically trained pianist who attended Yale University’s School of Drama, often built his performances in police dramas around a drill-sergeant demeanor — with a gleaming scalp, gravelly baritone voice and ramrod bearing.

From Washington Post • Mar. 17, 2023

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

So Pa would take the ramrod from its place under the gun barrel, and fasten a piece of clean cloth on its end.

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