ram

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically

   Don’t try to ram that down my throat.

2. 2
   verb

   strike or drive against with a heavy impact

   ram the gate with a sledgehammer

3. 3
   noun

   Acronym of random-access memory.

   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?

4. 4
   noun

   A battering ram; a heavy object used for breaking through doors.

   1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London 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.

5. 5
   noun

   A 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.

6. 6
   noun

   A weight which strikes a blow, in a ramming device such as a pile driver, steam hammer, or stamp mill.

   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."

7. 7
   verb

   To 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.

8. 8
   verb

   To strike (something) hard, especially with an implement.

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

Etymology

From Middle English ram, rom, ramme, from Old English ramm (“ram”), from Proto-Germanic *rammaz (“ram”), possibly from *rammaz (“strong”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Rom (“ram”), Dutch ram (“a male sheep”), German Ramm, Ramme (“ram”). Possibly akin also to Danish ram (“sharp; acrid; rank”), Swedish ram (“strong; perfect”), Faroese ramur (“strong; competent”), Icelandic rammur (“strong; sturdy”).