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• rum
  rum

  noun

  an alcoholic liquor or spirit distilled from molasses or some other fermented sugar-cane product.
• Rum
  Rum

  noun

  Arabic name of Rome, once used to designate the Byzantine Empire.
• Rum.
  Rum.

  abbreviation

  Rumania. See Romania.

rum

¹ American  

[ruhm] / rʌm /

noun

1. an alcoholic liquor or spirit distilled from molasses or some other fermented sugar-cane product.

2. alcoholic drink in general; intoxicating liquor.

   He warned against the demon rum.

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rum ² American  

[ruhm] / rʌm /

adjective

Chiefly British Informal.

1. odd, strange, or queer.

   a rum fellow.

2. problematic; difficult; bad.

   a rum situation.

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rum ³ American  

[ruhm] / rʌm /

noun

Cards.

1. rummy.

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Rum ⁴ American  

[room] / rum /

noun

1. Arabic name of Rome, once used to designate the Byzantine Empire.

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Rum. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Rumania. See Romania.

2. Rumanian. See Romanian. Also Rum

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rum ¹ British  

/ rʌm /

noun

1. spirit made from sugar cane, either coloured brownish-red by the addition of caramel or by maturation in oak containers, or left white

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rum ² British  

/ rʌm /

adjective

1. slang strange; peculiar; odd

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rum ³ British  

/ rʌm /

noun

1. short for rummy 1

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Other Word Forms

• rumness
  noun
• rumless
  adjective
• rumly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of rum¹

First recorded in 1645–55; perhaps short for obsolete rumbullion, rumbustion, of obscure origin

Origin of rum²

First recorded in 1750–60; earlier rome, room “great,” of uncertain origin; perhaps from Romani; see Rom

Origin of rum³

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; by shortening

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rum Rum Rum.

One — with notes of rum, bergamot and Ambergris, is called Monkey Special, named after his 1964 Gibson SG guitar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026

The adjacent "mipyme" -- Cuba's acronym for small business which is used as shorthand for any private enterprise -- is a picture of plenty, offering everything from rice, Cuba's staple starch, to rum and ketchup.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Inside was Venezuelan rum for the men and straw beach bags and chocolate for the women.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

On Thursday, Seedat told the inquiry he was not aware "red rum" was a reference to murder.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

Father always smelled of bay rum, the shaving lotion he used, and Mother smelled of some kind of perfume or cologne.

From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor

“And Donn’s drinks were stories. Rum from all these different places, and spices and fruits. It opens up a world of locations.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

I Am Maximus, ridden by Paul Townend, went into the race 9-2 favourite after significant late support by punters and became the first horse since Red Rum in 1977 to regain the Grand National.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

At the Pirates’ fan site Rum Bunter, Emma Lingan wrote: “Fandom isn’t a streaming subscription you cancel when the content gets bad.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025

Josh Friedman is the chief executive of Dr. Squatch, a maker of products like Bay Rum soap and Pine Tar “Odor Squatching” deodorant, which was acquired by Unilever this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025

In just over three years, she solved a staggering twelve thousand secret messages for the Coast Guard and its allies in the Rum War.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Son of a Manhattan hotel owner, Ben Bates evolved his philosophy of an elegant life when, as a boy, he watched his father's daily ritual in preparing punch from Medford Rum.*

From Time Magazine Archive

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