an alcoholic liquor or spirit distilled from molasses or some other fermented sugar-cane product.
alcoholic drink in general; intoxicating liquor.
He warned against the demon rum.
odd, strange, or queer.
a rum fellow.
problematic; difficult; bad.
a rum situation.
First recorded in 1645–55; perhaps short for obsolete rumbullion, rumbustion, of obscure origin
First recorded in 1750–60; earlier rome, room “great,” of uncertain origin; perhaps from Romani; see Rom
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; by shortening
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Convention says no, but then again convention has had a rum time of it in recent years.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 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
Afterward, thousands of giddy fans thronged the malecón, Havana’s seaside promenade, laughing and drinking rum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
“You’re telling me you like rum raisin as much as double chocolate fudge?”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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
Garten’s recipes for a Maple Pecan Pie and an Ultimate Pumpkin Pie with Rum Whipped Cream only include a bottom crust.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2025
Now I was drinking sugary tea with Zalabia Bedouins and squatting on a sand drift in Wadi Rum, the Valley of the Moon, less than twenty miles from the Saudi Arabian border.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
