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rum

1
[ ruhm ]
/ rʌm /
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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.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of rum

1
First recorded in 1645–55; perhaps short for obsolete rumbullion, rumbustion, of obscure origin

OTHER WORDS FROM rum

rumless, adjective

Other definitions for rum (2 of 5)

rum2
[ ruhm ]
/ rʌm /

adjective Chiefly British Informal.
odd, strange, or queer: a rum fellow.
problematic; difficult; bad: a rum situation.

Origin of rum

2
First recorded in 1750–60; earlier rome, room “great,” of uncertain origin; perhaps from Romani; see Rom

Other definitions for rum (3 of 5)

rum3
[ ruhm ]
/ rʌm /

noun Cards.

Origin of rum

3
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; by shortening

Other definitions for rum (4 of 5)

Rum
[ room ]
/ rum /

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

Other definitions for rum (5 of 5)

Rum.

abbreviation
Rumania. See Romania.
Rumanian. See Romanian. Also Rum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rum (1 of 3)

rum1
/ (rʌm) /

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

Word Origin for rum

C17: perhaps shortened from C16 rumbullion, of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for rum (2 of 3)

rum2
/ (rʌm) /

adjective rummer or rummest
British slang strange; peculiar; odd

Derived forms of rum

rumly, adverbrumness, noun

Word Origin for rum

C19: perhaps from Romany rom man

British Dictionary definitions for rum (3 of 3)

rum3
/ (rʌm) /

noun
short for rummy 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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