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.
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
Sazerac, whose brands include Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, Buffalo Trace bourbon and Parrot Bay rum, initially connected with 818 when the brand did a collaboration with its Traveller Whiskey, created by country singer Chris Stapleton.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
On Thursday, Seedat told the inquiry he was not aware "red rum" was a reference to murder.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Afterward, thousands of giddy fans thronged the malecón, Havana’s seaside promenade, laughing and drinking rum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
Food was in short supply and so was everything else, and we could sell anything we could get our hands on—cloth, farming tools, wheat, sugar, rum, anything at all.
From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
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
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
The people knew of the Rum only from the Song that was presented at the yearly Gathering.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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.
