Link Centre Dictionary

ream

UK/ɹiːm/ US/ˈrim/ rare slang uk vulgar
noun (2) verb (3)

noun

1.

a large quantity of written matter

  • “he wrote reams and reams”
2.

a quantity of paper; 480 or 500 sheets; one ream equals 20 quires

verb

1.

squeeze the juice out (of a fruit) with a reamer

  • “ream oranges”
2.

add poison to

  • “Her husband poisoned her drink in order to kill her”
3.

enlarge with a reamer

  • “ream a hole”

Origin

From Middle English rem, reme, from Old English rēam (“cream”), from Proto-West Germanic *raum, from Proto-Germanic *raumaz (“cream”), from Proto-Indo-European *réwgʰmn̥ (“to sour [milk]”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Room (“cream”), West Frisian rjemme (“cream”), Dutch room (“cream”), German Low German Rahm, Rohm (“cream”), German Rahm (“cream”), Swedish römme (“cream”), Norwegian rømme (“sour cream”), Faroese rómi (“cream”), Icelandic rjómi (“cream”). See also ramekin.

Phrases

  • printer's ream
  • ream job

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.