rummy

[ruhm-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rummy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of various card games for two, three, or four players, each usually being dealt seven, nine, or ten cards, in which the object is to match cards into sets and sequences.

Origin of rummy

1905–10, Americanism; perhaps special use of rummy³

Also called rum.

rummy

[ruhm-ee]

noun, plural rum·mies.

Slang. a drunkard.

adjective

of or like rum.

Origin of rummy

First recorded in 1850–55; rum¹ + -y¹

rummy

[ruhm-ee]

adjective, rum·mi·er, rum·mi·est. Chiefly British Slang.

odd; peculiar.

Origin of rummy

First recorded in 1820–30; rum² + -y¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rummy

funny, crazy, oddball, freak, bent, irregular, singular, beat, characteristic, offbeat, queer, wild, weird, aberrant, sponge, alcoholic, tippler, drunk, lush, inebriate

Examples from the Web for rummy

Contemporary Examples of rummy

The “rooty toot toot” is simply the noise the horns make, while “rummy tum tum” is the drums.
The Most Confusing Christmas Music Lyrics Explained (VIDEO)
Kevin Fallon
December 24, 2014
Does making these comments take more or less gall than Rummy with that tweet this morning?
Because It'll Be Different This Time
Michael Tomasky
March 19, 2013
Anderson declined to run a correction, even after Rummy gave him a tour of the office.
Rumsfeld's Lighter Side from New Book Known and Unknown
Howard Kurtz
February 3, 2011

Historical Examples of rummy

Rummy accent and all that, but nevertheless a soft and pleasing voice.
Jill the Reckless
P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
Rummy as the gadget might appear, it had been the right thing to do.
Jill the Reckless
P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
People talk about that rummy motor at Bonnington and Aldington to this day.
The Magic World
Edith Nesbit
And, most important of all to a rummy, you drink the best booze and as much of it as you want.
Medal of Honor
Dallas McCord Reynolds
Most likely I'll do my best to stop whatever it is you've got in that rummy head of yours.'
Peterkin
Mary Louisa Molesworth

British Dictionary definitions for rummy

rummy

rum

noun

a card game based on collecting sets and sequences

Word Origin for rummy

C20: perhaps from rum ²

rummy

adjective

another word for rum 2

rummy

noun plural -mies

US and Canadian a slang word for drunkard

adjective

of or like rum in taste or smell

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

Word Origin and History for rummy

card game, 1910, rhummy, of unknown origin. Gin rummy is first attested 1941. Meaning "drunkard" is 1851, from rum (n.). Meaning "opponent of temperance" in U.S. politics is from 1860.