rum
noun
an alcoholic liquor or spirit distilled from molasses or some other fermented sugar-cane product.
rum
1 American
[ruhm]
/ rʌm /
noun
-
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.
rum
2
American
[ruhm]
/ rʌm /
adjective
Chiefly British Informal.
-
odd, strange, or queer.
a rum fellow.
-
problematic; difficult; bad.
a rum situation.
rum
3
American
[ruhm]
/ rʌm /
noun
Cards.
Rum
4
American
[r oom]
/ rum /
noun
rum
1
British
/ rʌm /
noun
rum
2
British
/ rʌm /
adjective
rum
3
British
/ rʌm /
noun
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It sent him off with a gift box of rum and coffee, courtesy of Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, whose name remains on a U.S. sanctions list.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
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
He previously lived in Florence, Italy, where he dabbled in opera, travelled by private jet and promoted his rum, wine and fashion brand -- "De la Espriella Style."
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 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
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
Meanwhile for those in search of a real doer-upper there is the £750,000 Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum which it has been estimated could cost millions to restore.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 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
That December, Elizebeth became the newest recruit in the Rum War—and the Coast Guard’s secret weapon.
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
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.
