ream

¹ American  

[reem] / rim /

noun

• reams
  plural

1. a standard quantity of paper, consisting of 20 quires or 500 sheets (formerly 480 sheets), or 516 sheets printer's ream, or perfect ream.

2. Usually reams. a large quantity.

   He has written reams of poetry.

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ream ² American  

[reem] / rim /

verb (used with object)

• reams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reamed,
  past participle,  past
• reaming
  present participle

1. to enlarge to desired size (a previously bored hole) by means of a reamer.

2. to clear with a reamer; remove or press out by reaming.

3. to extract the juice from.

   to ream an orange.

4. Slang.

   1. to scold or reprimand severely (usually followed byout ).

   2. to cheat; defraud.

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ream ¹ British  

/ riːm /

noun

1. a number of sheets of paper, formerly 480 sheets ( short ream ), now 500 sheets ( long ream ) or 516 sheets ( printer's ream or perfect ream ). One ream is equal to 20 quires

2. informal (often plural) a large quantity, esp of written matter

   he wrote reams

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ream ² British  

/ riːm /

verb

1. to enlarge (a hole) by use of a reamer

2. to extract (juice) from (a citrus fruit) using a reamer

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reams
  plural

Participles

• reaming
  present
• reamed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ream
  simple
• reams
  simple
• have reamed
  perfect
• has reamed
  perfect
• am reaming
  progressive
• are reaming
  progressive
• is reaming
  progressive
• have been reaming
  perfect progressive
• has been reaming
  perfect progressive

Past

• reamed
  simple
• had reamed
  perfect
• was reaming
  progressive
• were reaming
  progressive
• had been reaming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ream
  simple
• will have reamed
  perfect
• will be reaming
  progressive
• will have been reaming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ream¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rem(e), from Middle French reime, rame, from Spanish rezma, from Arabic rizmah “bale”

Origin of ream²

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

Explanation

A ream is a quantity of paper sold in a bundle, once comprised of 480 sheets but now rounded up to 500. If you write reams of love letters to your beloved, I hope she appreciates them. Or at least recycles. The word ream has two distinct meanings, depending on whether you use it as a noun or a verb. As a noun, it refers to an amount of paper, its origin from the Arabic rizmah, or "bundle." As a verb, ream is a rough word that can mean "to make a hole in" or "to squeeze." When you "ream someone out" you give them a scolding.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ream reams reamed reaming

So I opened Cash App and sent Cathy another ream of screenshots: She wanted evidence of my having verified my identity on the app, of my having purchased Bitcoin, of my having sent it.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025

Then I tore open a new ream of paper and aligned it atop the hundred pages left from the first ream, took a sheet, rolled it into my typewriter and started writing:

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2023

"I shouldn't need to be looking in September at what supermarket chain has the cheapest ream of paper so I can ask parents to buy a ream per child."

From BBC ● May 24, 2023

It involved sometimes a whole ream of paper on an electric typewriter just to get the first sentence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2022

He brought his handkerchief out of his pocket to ream the sweat, carefully, out of one eye socket and then the other.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

But there was a twist: The agency tasked with policing corporate record-keeping somehow lost reams of its own text messages between Mr. Gensler and other officials during the most intense period of the anti-crypto campaign.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

To decide what to fund, staffers with deep expertise typically pored over reams of information on abuses under the most repressive regimes and held an open competition to fund groups to work in those countries.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

If it’s an entry-level or junior role that’s likely to receive reams of applications, Fell said a candidate could skip a letter.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Those ideas were made manifest in lavish PR material conjuring up fantastical landscapes that attracted reams of coverage that mingled awe and derision.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

Our family had no piano and we couldn’t afford to buy one, let alone reams of sheet music and piano lessons.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

And he just reamed him in front of the whole court in front of everyone and fired him, which was very nice of the judge.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2022

Another that was reamed by critics and shocked fans when it was nominated for Golden Globes, "Emily in Paris" follows a young American woman who moves to France's capital to chase her dreams.

From Fox News ● Sep. 16, 2021

Drenched in dread, Wyeth’s story is told mainly by an anonymous narrator via 84 flashback scenes reamed with abrupt, enigmatic silences.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2019

Bharara: I got reamed out a few times, unfairly, every time of course.

From MSNBC ● Jun. 11, 2019

I’ll get reamed for it later, I’m sure.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

The reaming he got from coach John Calipari when the team watched video in the Hall of Famer’s basement the next day.

From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2022

“But he is the exact opposite of that. When Susie is reaming him out he is so happy, it makes him joyful.”

From The Guardian ● Oct. 1, 2017

But notice how Jeanie smiles sadistically while listening to Rooney reaming out Ferris on the back steps.

From Washington Times ● May 22, 2016

As for your young marrieds, don’t compound their rudeness with your own by reaming them out.

From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2014

She’s probably occupying herself in order to refrain from reaming me out for not sharing my book with Jeremy.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• batch
• bundle
• scad
• stack
• ton