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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

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rum Rum Rum.

On a recent Friday evening at a Westchester yacht club, roughly a dozen choppers flew by in a two-hour stretch as members sipped rum cocktails on a waterside deck.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Convention says no, but then again convention has had a rum time of it in recent years.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Before launching his presidential bid, De la Espriella lived in Florence, Italy, where he dabbled in opera, jetted around in private planes and promoted his rum and wine businesses.

From Barron's ● May 25, 2026

Afterward, thousands of giddy fans thronged the malecón, Havana’s seaside promenade, laughing and drinking rum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026

Cari chose cherry, and Wash took rum raisin.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

There was further history for I Am Maximus, with a handicap of 11st 12lb, becoming the first top weight to triumph since Red Rum carried 12st in 1974.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

I Am Maximus is bidding to become the first horse to carry top weight to victory since triple winner Red Rum in the 1970s.

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 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

To get what she needed, she made the most of her contacts in every division, working not only with the Coast Guard, but also with other agencies involved 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