ram

¹

[ ram ]

noun

1. a male sheep.
2. Aries, Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign of Aries.
3. any of various devices for battering, crushing, driving, or forcing something, especially a battering ram.
4. (formerly) a heavy beak or spur projecting from the bow of a warship for penetrating the hull of an enemy's ship.
5. (formerly) a warship so equipped, especially one used primarily for ramming enemy vessels.
6. the heavy weight that strikes the blow in a pile driver or the like.
7. a piston, as on a hydraulic press.
8. a reciprocating part of certain machine tools, as the toolholder of a slotter or shaper.
9. hydraulic ram.

verb (used with object)

, rammed, ram·ming.

1. to drive or force by heavy blows.

   Synonyms: hammer, beat, thrust, jam

2. to strike with great force; dash violently against:

   The car went out of control and rammed the truck.

3. to cram; stuff:

   They rammed the gag into his mouth.

4. to push firmly:

   to ram a bill through the Senate.

5. to force (a charge) into a firearm, as with a ramrod.

ram

²

[ ram ]

noun

, Australian, Now Rare.

1. a confidence man's associate who acts as a decoy; confederate; shill.

RAM

³

[ ram ]

noun

1. random-access memory; computer memory available to the user for creating, loading, or running programs and for the temporary storage and manipulation of data, in which time of access to each item is independent of the storage sequence. As a storage medium, RAM is volatile, so its contents are lost when the power fails or is turned off.

RAM

⁴

abbreviation for

1. reverse annuity mortgage.

R.A.M.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. Royal Academy of Music.

ram

¹

/ ræm /

noun

1. an uncastrated adult sheep
2. a piston or moving plate, esp one driven hydraulically or pneumatically
3. the falling weight of a pile driver or similar device
4. short for battering ram
5. Also calledrostrumbeak a pointed projection in the stem of an ancient warship for puncturing the hull of enemy ships
6. a warship equipped with a ram
7. slang.
   a sexually active man

verb

1. trusually foll byinto to force or drive, as by heavy blows

   to ram a post into the ground

2. (of a moving object) to crash with force (against another object) or (of two moving objects) to collide in this way

   the ships rammed the enemy

3. tr; often foll by in or down to stuff or cram (something into a hole, etc)
4. tr; foll by onto, against etc to thrust violently

   he rammed the books onto the desk

5. tr to present (an idea, argument, etc) forcefully or aggressively (esp in the phrase ram ( something ) down someone's throat )
6. tr to drive (a charge) into a firearm

r.a.m.

²

abbreviation for

1. relative atomic mass

RAM

³

/ ræm /

acronym for

1. random access memory: semiconductor memory in which all storage locations can be rapidly accessed in the same amount of time. It forms the main memory of a computer, used by applications to perform tasks while the device is operating

RAM

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Royal Academy of Music

Ram

⁵

/ ræm /

noun

1. the Ram
   the constellation Aries, the first sign of the zodiac

RAM

/ răm /

1. Short for random access memory. The main memory of a computer, in which data can be stored or retrieved from all locations at the same (usually very high) speed.
2. See also dynamic RAM

RAM

1. Acronym for r andom a ccess m emory, which is a type of memory in which a reader can go to a specific item without having to start at the beginning. Random access memories can often be altered once an item is found. ( See computer memory and magnetic memory storage ; compare ROM .)

Notes

hard drives on a computer are an example of RAM.

Derived Forms

• ˈrammer, noun

Other Words From

• ramlike adjective
• un·rammed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ram¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun ram, ram(m)e “male sheep, machine for ramming,” Old English ramm, romm; cognate with Dutch, Low German ram, German Ramme; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of ram²

First recorded in 1940–45; origin obscure; possibly from British criminal argot ramp “swindle”

Origin of ram³

r(andom)-a(ccess) m(emory)

Word History and Origins

Origin of ram¹

Old English ramm ; related to Old High German ram ram, Old Norse ramr fierce, rimma to fight

Example Sentences

A young mother killed when she was rammed off an e-bike in a hit-and-run crash has been named.

From BBC

A police officer who sparked 2,000 complaints after ramming a cow on a road is returning to frontline duty after an investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.

From BBC

Mr Kaba then tried to drive forward and ram his way past the police vehicle in front, smashing into it and a white car parked on the street.

From BBC

A subsequent police report contained errors, including listing Taylor's injuries as "none" and saying no force was used to enter, when a battering ram had been used.

From BBC

During the trial jurors heard Mr Kaba's car was boxed in by police cars and he drove backwards and forwards trying to ram his way free.

From BBC

Related Words

• cram
• crash
• run into
• sink
• slam
• smash
• stab
• thrust