ram

¹ American  

[ram] / ræm /

noun

1. a male sheep.

2. Astronomy, Astrology. Aries, 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.

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verb (used with object)

rammed, ramming

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 American  

[ram] / ræm /

noun

Australian, Now Rare.

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

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RAM ³ American  

[ram] / ræm /

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.

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RAM ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. reverse annuity mortgage.

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R.A.M. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Royal Academy of Music.

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ram ¹ British  

/ 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 called: rostrum.   beak.  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

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verb

1. 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 British  

abbreviation

1. relative atomic mass

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Ram ³ British  

/ ræm /

noun

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

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RAM ⁴ British  

/ ræm /

acronym

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

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RAM ⁵ British  

abbreviation

1. Royal Academy of Music

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RAM Scientific  

/ 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 static RAM

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RAM Cultural  

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.)

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Discover More

hard drives on a computer are an example of RAM.

Other Word Forms

• ramlike adjective
• rammer noun
• unrammed adjective

Etymology

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)

Explanation

A male sheep or goat is called a ram. If you're a fan of reading your horoscope, you might notice that Aries, usually considered the first sign of the zodiac, is represented by a ram. Another kind of ram is a "battering ram," a tool for forcing a heavy door open or breaking a hole in a wall. This kind of ram comes from the male sheep and his powerful horns — and so does the verb ram: "I watched the rams ram their heads into each other as they battled over territory." Some word experts think the word stems from the Old Norse rammr, "strong."

Example Sentences

After an ICE agent fatally shot Good on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, government officials alleged that Good, who is survived by a wife and three children, was trying to ram the agent with her SUV.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

One ram appeared to pose in the golden-hour light, a shadow of his curled horn cast on his cheek.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026

The race, part of the annual Walcha Motorcycle Rally, had been a demolition derby - a type of motorsport where drivers ram their vehicles into one another.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

Lecornu has also pledged not to use a constitutional power to ram the budget bill into law without a vote as has been done in previous years.

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025

There I must plant my oar, on the very spot, with burnt offerings to Poseidon of the Waters: a ram, a bull, a great buck boar.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Related Words

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