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definitions

rummy

1
[ ruhm-ee ]
/ ˈrʌm i /
|
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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.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. ruml,
  2. rummage,
  3. rummage out,
  4. rummage sale,
  5. rummer,
  6. rumor,
  7. rumored,
  8. rumormonger,
  9. rumour,
  10. rump

Origin of rummy

1
1905–10, Americanism; perhaps special use of rummy3
Also called rum.

Definition for rummy (2 of 3)

rummy

2
[ ruhm-ee ]
/ ˈrʌm i /

noun, plural rum·mies.

Slang. a drunkard.

adjective

of or like rum.

Origin of rummy

2
First recorded in 1850–55; rum1 + -y1

Definition for rummy (3 of 3)

rummy

3
[ ruhm-ee ]
/ ˈrʌm i /

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

odd; peculiar.

Origin of rummy

3
First recorded in 1820–30; rum2 + -y1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rummy

British Dictionary definitions for rummy (1 of 3)

rummy

1

rum

/ (ˈrʌmɪ) /

noun

a card game based on collecting sets and sequences

Word Origin for rummy

C20: perhaps from rum ²

British Dictionary definitions for rummy (2 of 3)

rummy

2
/ (ˈrʌmɪ) /

adjective

another word for rum 2

British Dictionary definitions for rummy (3 of 3)

rummy

3
/ (ˈrʌmɪ) /

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

rummy

n.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper