ram

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
a
: a male sheep
b
capitalized : aries
2
b
: a warship with a heavy beak at the prow for piercing an enemy ship
3
: any of various guided pieces for exerting pressure or for driving or forcing something by impact: such as
a
: the plunger of a hydrostatic press or force pump
b
: the weight that strikes the blow in a pile driver

ram

2 of 3

verb

rammed; ramming

intransitive verb

1
: to strike with violence : crash
2
: to move with extreme rapidity

transitive verb

1
: to force in by or as if by driving
2
a
: to make compact (as by pounding)
b
: cram, crowd
3
: to force passage or acceptance of
ram home an idea
4
: to strike against violently
rammer noun

RAM

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a computer memory on which data can be both read and written and on which the location of data does not affect the speed of its retrieval
especially : RAM that acts as the main storage available to the user for programs and data

called also random-access memory

compare rom

Examples of ram in a Sentence

Verb They deliberately rammed my car from behind. The car slid and rammed against the wall. He deliberately rammed his car into mine. She rammed her fist against the wall in anger. She rammed the cork into the barrel. He opened the chute and rammed the clothes down. Noun (2) My computer is slow because it needs more RAM.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
When Jack finds a couple of Michael’s rams have wandered onto his family’s land, Jack keeps them and attempts to sell them at a local auction. Scott Phillips, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024 Another important observance is the blowing of the shofar, or a curved ram’s horn. Zach Bradshaw, The Arizona Republic, 11 Oct. 2024
Verb
Related Articles Driver rams his car into crowd in China, killing 35. Teri Figueroa, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024 The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the container ship that rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, seeking $100 million in damages for the structure's collapse, which killed six construction workers and led to massive economic losses. Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ram 

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English ramm; akin to Old High German ram

Verb

Middle English rammen, probably from ram, noun

Noun (2)

random-access memory

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1519, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1957, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ram was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ram

Cite this Entry

“Ram.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ram. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

ram

1 of 3 noun
1
: a male sheep
2

ram

2 of 3 verb
rammed; ramming
1
: to strike or strike against with violence : crash
2
: to force in, down, or through by or as if by driving or pressing
rammer noun

RAM

3 of 3 noun
: a computer memory that acts as the main storage available to the user for programs and data compare ROM

Medical Definition

ram

noun
: a male sheep

More from Merriam-Webster on ram

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