ram

plural rams

1. agricultureA male sheep, typically uncastrated.
2. A battering ram; a heavy object used for breaking through doors.

   The solid oak door—he fingered it again—was as though made to resist a ram, the walls built to withstand a siege, and every stone and brick in wall, bench, or floor was as immovable as the face of a rock.

   1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

3. historicalgovernmentA warship intended to sink other ships by ramming them.

   About a couple of miles out lay an ironclad very low in the water, almost, to my brother's perception, like a water-logged ship. This was the ram Thunder Child.

   1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 178

4. historicalgovernmentA reinforced section of the bow of a warship, intended to be used for ramming other ships.
5. A piston powered by hydraulic pressure.
6. An act of ramming.
7. A weight which strikes a blow, in a ramming device such as a pile driver, steam hammer, or stamp mill.

   1 more example

   He describes the operation thus: "The heavy ram employed to impart the finishing strokes, hoisted up with double purchase and snail's pace to the summit of the Piling Engine, and then falling down like a thunderbolt on the head of the devoted timber, driving it perhaps a single half inch in to the stratum below, is well calculated to put to the test the virtue of patience, while it illustrates the old adage of—slow and sure."

   1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, in Railway Magazine, page 487

present singular third person rams · participle present ramming · participle past rammed · past rammed

1. ambitransitiveTo collide with (an object), usually with the intention of damaging it or disabling its function.

   The man, driving an SUV, then rammed the gate, according to police.

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   A large stone rammed her head

   2014, Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior, Pan Macmillan

   Two snatch thieves who snatched a woman's bag experienced swift karma when their victim accidentally rammed into their motorcycle.

   2016 December 29, M. Kumar, “Snatch thieves accidentally rammed by victim”, in The Star, Malaysia

   The other ships, either not caring or too badly-damaged to do anything about it, proceed on their mission, with König the last to fall silent, shot to pieces in a last attempt to ram the Bellerophon.

   2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 25:35 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2022

   The only amusing highlight was Gudgeon having managed to exploit U.S. codebreaking efforts to ambush and destroy the submarine I-173, albeit not for the lack of the Mark 14's trying to sabotage the effort, as the torpedo that had hit the sub had refused to detonate; it seemed, however, that the car-crash levels of kinetic energy involved in the dud simply ramming the sub had nonetheless done enough to fatally damage it.

   2021 December 29, Drachinifel, 21:03 from the start, in The USN Pacific Submarine Campaign - The Dark Year (Dec'41 - Dec'42), archived from the original on 19 Jul 2022

2. transitiveTo strike (something) hard, especially with an implement.

   To build a sturdy fence, you have to ram the posts deep into the ground.

3. transitiveTo seat a cartridge, projectile, or propellant charge in the breech of a firearm by pushing or striking.

   After placing the cartridge in the musket, ram it down securely with the ramrod.

4. alsofigurativelytransitiveTo force, cram or thrust (someone or something) into or through something.

   I quickly rammed another charge down the barrel and took aim.

   1 more example

   Again: great to take lessons in ethics from a guy currently trying to ram through a policy of freighting refugees off to cuddly Rwandan president Paul Kagame.

   2023 July 4, Marina Hyde, “Who’s for political Bazball with Rishi? Voters? Tories? Anyone?”, in The Guardian

5. transitiveTo fill or compact by pounding or driving.

   They rammed the earth walls to make them more compact

6. slangTo thrust during sexual intercourse.

   1999, Mr.Web, Size Matters review by mr. web review Group: rec.arts.movies.erotica like feel a soft butt against their pelvis or ram a girl really hard with piston-like speed while she begs and screams for more

comparative more ram · superlative most ram

1. Northern EnglandRancid; offensive in smell or taste.

1. Multicultural London EnglishalternativeslangAlternative form of rambo.

plural RAMs

1. abbreviationacronymcomputer hardwareAcronym of random-access memory.

   1 more example

   Looking for the best RAM for your PC in 2023 has gotten a little bit more complicated than before. With the advent of DDR5, you can now choose between a newer standard, and an older one. DDR4 has a differently keyed connector, and you’re also going to have to check that the RAM is compatible with your CPU in the first place. So, what should you buy?

   2023 March 7, Joel Loynds, “Best RAM for gaming in 2023: DDR4, DDR5 & more”, in Dexerto

2. abbreviationacronymcomputerAcronym of random-access machine.
3. abbreviationacronymphysicalsciencesAcronym of relative atomic mass; sometimes styled r.a.m..
4. abbreviationacronymproject managementAcronym of responsibility assignment matrix.
5. abbreviationacronymrisk managementAcronym of reliability availability maintainability.
6. abbreviationacronymgovernmentAcronym of radar-absorbent material, a material which absorbs radar.

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Royal Academy of Music.
2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Rise Above Movement.

1. astrologyThe constellation and zodiac sign Aries.

   Aries, or the Ram governeth the head.

   1668, ‘Godfridus’, The Knowledge of Things Unknown, London: G.P. for G. Sawbridge, page 19

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   Those stars said to belong to the Ram might as well be supposed to belong to the Bull or the Lion.

   1862, [Frances Rolleston], Mazzaroth, or, The Constellations, London: Rivingtons, page 15

   The diamond is said to typify innocence, and it is also associated with Virgo, the maid, in the Signs of the Zodiac, whilst the ruby is associated with the sign Aries, the ram.

   1889 February 7, The Herald, Melbourne, page 4, column 3

   The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins, And next the Crab, the Lion shines, The Virgin and the Scales; The Scorpion, Archer, and Sea-Goat, The Man that carries the Water-pot, And Fish with glittering scales.

   1893, E. W. Bullinger, Witness of the Stars, London: The author, page 16

   Strange, too, how the old pagan names for the constellations—the Ram, the Bull, the Twins (Castor and Pollux), the Crab, the Lion, the Virgin, the Scales, the Scorpion, the Archer, the Horned Goat, the Water-carrier, and the Fishes, have persisted all these thousands of years in spite of attempts made by philosophers of the Christian and other faiths to give them more prosaic or more religious names.

   1926 November 21, “How old is the zodiac?”, in The Woodend Star, Victoria, page 4, column 6

   ‘’Tis the sign of the Ram,' he whispered with wonder. ‘The first sign of the Zodiac!’

   1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 27

2. UKball gamesSomeone connected with Derby County Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.

1. biblicalThe father of Amminadab and the son of Hezron.
2. A male given name.
3. A surname
4. One of the two progenitors of the second generation of humans in Mandaeism.

plural Rams

1. A US Korean War anti-tank weapon.

1. alternativeAlternative form of Rāma (“an incarnation of the god Vishnu in Hinduism”).