ream
1 Americannoun
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reams
plural
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a standard quantity of paper, consisting of 20 quires or 500 sheets (formerly 480 sheets), or 516 sheets printer's ream, or perfect ream.
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Usually reams. a large quantity.
He has written reams of poetry.
verb (used with object)
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reams,
present (3rd person singular)
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reamed,
past participle, past
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reaming
present participle
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to enlarge to desired size (a previously bored hole) by means of a reamer.
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to clear with a reamer; remove or press out by reaming.
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to extract the juice from.
to ream an orange.
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Slang.
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to scold or reprimand severely (usually followed byout ).
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to cheat; defraud.
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noun
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a number of sheets of paper, formerly 480 sheets ( short ream ), now 500 sheets ( long ream ) or 516 sheets ( printer's ream or perfect ream ). One ream is equal to 20 quires
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informal (often plural) a large quantity, esp of written matter
he wrote reams
verb
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to enlarge (a hole) by use of a reamer
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to extract (juice) from (a citrus fruit) using a reamer
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reamsimple
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reamssimple
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have reamedperfect
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has reamedperfect
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am reamingprogressive
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are reamingprogressive
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is reamingprogressive
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have been reamingperfect progressive
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has been reamingperfect progressive
Past
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reamedsimple
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had reamedperfect
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was reamingprogressive
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were reamingprogressive
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had been reamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ream1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rem(e), from Middle French reime, rame, from Spanish rezma, from Arabic rizmah “bale”
Origin of ream2
First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain
Explanation
A ream is a quantity of paper sold in a bundle, once comprised of 480 sheets but now rounded up to 500. If you write reams of love letters to your beloved, I hope she appreciates them. Or at least recycles. The word ream has two distinct meanings, depending on whether you use it as a noun or a verb. As a noun, it refers to an amount of paper, its origin from the Arabic rizmah, or "bundle." As a verb, ream is a rough word that can mean "to make a hole in" or "to squeeze." When you "ream someone out" you give them a scolding.
Vocabulary lists containing ream
"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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"Two Kinds" by Amy Tan
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Sapiens
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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:
When L.A. finally does get to the point of construction, a new ream of issues related to labor and supplies will likely crop up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2025
Then I tore open a new ream of paper and aligned it atop the hundred pages left from the first ream, took a sheet, rolled it into my typewriter and started writing:
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2023
"I shouldn't need to be looking in September at what supermarket chain has the cheapest ream of paper so I can ask parents to buy a ream per child."
From BBC ● May 24, 2023
No famous person is as adept as Lil Nas X at casually but thoroughly smacking down the ream of Twitter churls inevitably awakened by something like this — maybe Cardi B, or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2021
He brought his handkerchief out of his pocket to ream the sweat, carefully, out of one eye socket and then the other.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The scaly beast looked curious as it walked atop the reams of vinyl at Manak’s bar, on the ground floor of Stones Throw’s offices, which take up half a block on Figueroa Avenue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
The agents also hallucinated reams of incoherent commands and text and were sloppy and did not cover their tracks well.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
But there was a twist: The agency tasked with policing corporate record-keeping somehow lost reams of its own text messages between Mr. Gensler and other officials during the most intense period of the anti-crypto campaign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
To decide what to fund, staffers with deep expertise typically pored over reams of information on abuses under the most repressive regimes and held an open competition to fund groups to work in those countries.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
I hung my coat on the rack and stowed my bicycle in a back room, amid ink pots and reams of blank paper.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Another that was reamed by critics and shocked fans when it was nominated for Golden Globes, "Emily in Paris" follows a young American woman who moves to France's capital to chase her dreams.
From Fox News ● Sep. 16, 2021
In mid-June, Carlson reamed out Kushner for advocating judicial reform, which the host viewed as the wrong political path for Trump.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2020
Drenched in dread, Wyeth’s story is told mainly by an anonymous narrator via 84 flashback scenes reamed with abrupt, enigmatic silences.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2019
Bharara: I got reamed out a few times, unfairly, every time of course.
From MSNBC ● Jun. 11, 2019
When I got there, my mom and brother were standing by the chairs that bad kids sit in while they’re waiting to get reamed out by the principal.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
Even other brands were reaming Instagram for the change.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
The reaming he got from coach John Calipari when the team watched video in the Hall of Famer’s basement the next day.
From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2022
“But he is the exact opposite of that. When Susie is reaming him out he is so happy, it makes him joyful.”
From The Guardian ● Oct. 1, 2017
But notice how Jeanie smiles sadistically while listening to Rooney reaming out Ferris on the back steps.
From Washington Times ● May 22, 2016
The pebbled surface is a magnet for grease and dirt, and you can pretty much forget about reaming out the gaps in the keyboard.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
