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RAM (răm)
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n.
Computers
Digital memory hardware in which information can be accessed in any order with equal speed.
[R(ANDOM-)A(CCESS) M(EMORY).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
ram (răm)
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n.
1. A male sheep.
2. Any of several devices used to drive, batter, or crush by forceful impact, especially:
a. A battering ram.
b. The weight that drops in a pile driver or steam hammer.
c. The plunger or piston of a force pump or hydraulic press.
3. A hydraulic ram.
4.
a. A projection on the prow of a warship, used to batter or cut into enemy vessels.
b. A ship having such a projection.
5. Ram See Aries.
tr.v. rammed, ram·ming, rams
1. To strike or drive against with a heavy impact; butt: rammed the door with a sledgehammer until it broke open.
2. To force or press into place.
3. To cram; stuff: rammed the clothes into the suitcase.
4. To force passage or acceptance of: rammed the project through the city council despite local opposition.
[Middle English, from Old English ramm.]
rammer n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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