ramrod

[ ram-rod ]

/ ˈræmˌrɒd /

noun

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

a cleaning rod for the barrel of a firearm.

a strict disciplinarian; martinet.

verb (used with object), ram·rod·ded, ram·rod·ding.

to exert discipline and authority on.

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

to accomplish or put into action by force, intimidation, etc.: to ramrod a bill through Congress.

Nearby words

Origin of ramrod

First recorded in 1750–60; ram¹ + rod

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

Examples from the Web for ramrod

Firkin hoops, or hickory withs, about as large as the ramrod of a rifle, will answer the purpose very well.
Croquet|Anonymous
Besides the ramrod belonging to the gun, the Indians always carry another long ramrod in their hands, which they generally use.
Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, v. 23|Various
He straightened his thin, lean figure until he stood as stiff as a ramrod.
Before the Dawn|Joseph Alexander Altsheler
I put on a cap and fired at a man only a few feet away with my ramrod still in my gun.
Personal Recollections of the Civil War|James Madison Stone

That involves four or five men, lifting a kind of ramrod with a square hammer-end, from the rack, and lugging it to the cooler.
Steel|Charles Rumford Walker

British Dictionary definitions for ramrod

ramrod

/ (ˈræmˌrɒd) /

noun

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

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

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 ramrod

ramrod

1757, literally "a rod used in ramming" (the charge of a gun), from ram (v.) + rod. Used figuratively for straightness or stiffness from 1939, also figuratively for formality, primness (ramroddy is in Century Dictionary, 1902). The verb is 1948, from the noun. Related: Ramrodded; ramrodding.