name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
ream
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ɹiːm/
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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homophone: rheme
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rhymes with -iːm
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UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: R IY1 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, nowadays usually containing 500 sheets.
An extremely large quantity of documents, data, or information that supports a claim, investigation, or case.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, figuratively, in-plural
Topics: law
Examples
- The accountants requested reams of financial records.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, nowadays usually containing 500 sheets.
An abstract large amount of something.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, in-plural
Examples
- I can't go – I still have reams of work left.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bunch, load, pile, abundance, battalion, arseload, assload, bellyload, boatload, brimful, busload, bucketful, bucketload, butt-ton, bumload, buttload, cartload, crapflood, crapload, deal, fuckload, fuckton, fuckwad, gob, great deal, hantle, heap, hecatomb, helluvalot, horseload, lashings, lot, mampus, many, mass, metric fuckton, metric shitload, mickle, mountain, muckle, multiplicity, multitude, ream, shedload, shitflood, shitful, shitload, shitton, sight, slew, spadeloads, sum, superflux, ton, trainload, truckload, tun, vaultful, wagonload
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To cream; mantle; foam; froth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To enlarge (a hole), especially using a reamer; to bore (a hole) wider.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rime
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
To remove (material) by reaming.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 8
To remove burrs and debris from inside (something, such as a freshly bored hole) using a tool.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rime
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 9
To shape or form, especially using a reamer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 10
To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, slang, vulgar
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 11
To yell at or berate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ream out
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 12
a quantity of paper; 480 or 500 sheets; one ream equals 20 quires
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: definite quantity
noun
Meaning 13
a large quantity of written matter
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- he wrote reams and reams
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: large indefinite quantity, large indefinite amount
verb
Meaning 14
enlarge with a reamer
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- ream a hole
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: enlarge
verb
Meaning 15
remove by making a hole or by boring
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the dentist reamed out the debris in the course of the root canal treatment
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: remove, take, take away, withdraw
verb
Meaning 16
squeeze the juice out (of a fruit) with a reamer
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- ream oranges
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: press out, express, extract
History
Etymology
From the German surname, Anglicized from Riehm, Röhm, Roehm.
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.
From Middle English reme, from Old French raime, rayme (“ream”) (French rame), from Catalan raima (“ream”), from Arabic رِزْمَة (rizma, “bundle”).
Etymology uncertain, possibly a variant of rime (etymology 4) with the East Anglian and Kentish development of Old English /yː/ to /eː/ (the modern spelling would thus be unetymologically for *reem). Doublet of room. Cognates * Dutch ruimen (“to empty, evacuate”) * German räumen (“to make room”) * Icelandic rýma (“to make room, clear”).
Across languages
Translations
60 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: топ (top) — bundle of paper
- Catalan: raima — bundle of paper
- Chinese Cantonese: 令 (lim1) — bundle of paper
- Chinese Cantonese: 拈 (lim1) — bundle of paper
- Chinese Cantonese: 捻 (lim1) — bundle of paper
- Chinese Mandarin: 令 (lǐng) — bundle of paper
- Czech: rys — bundle of paper
- Dutch: riem — bundle of paper
- Finnish: riisi — bundle of paper
- French: rame — bundle of paper
- French: rame de papier — bundle of paper
- French: ramette — bundle of paper
- Galician: resma — bundle of paper
- German: Ries — bundle of paper
- Hungarian: rizsma — bundle of paper
- Indonesian: rim — bundle of paper
- Irish: réam — bundle of paper
- Italian: risma — bundle of paper
- Norwegian Bokmål: ris — bundle of paper
- Polish: ryza — bundle of paper
- Portuguese: resma — bundle of paper
- Spanish: resma — bundle of paper
- Swedish: ris — bundle of paper
- Tagalog: resma — bundle of paper
- Thai: รีม (riim) — bundle of paper
- Welsh: rîm — bundle of paper
- Bulgarian: куп (kup) — abstract large amount
- Finnish: kasa — abstract large amount
- Finnish: läjä — abstract large amount
- Finnish: tukku — abstract large amount
- German: Menge — abstract large amount
- Irish: uafás — abstract large amount
- Welsh: llond gwlad — abstract large amount
- Welsh: pentwr — abstract large amount
- Bulgarian: райберовам (rajberovam) — to enlarge a hole
- Catalan: barrinar — to enlarge a hole
- Czech: vystružit — to enlarge a hole
- Czech: vystruhovat — to enlarge a hole
- Finnish: avartaa — to enlarge a hole
- Finnish: aarporata — to enlarge a hole
- French: aléser — to enlarge a hole
- German: reiben — to enlarge a hole
- German: aufbohren — to enlarge a hole
- Polish: rozwiercać — to enlarge a hole
- Polish: poszerzać — to enlarge a hole
- Russian: развёртывать (razvjórtyvatʹ) — to enlarge a hole
- Russian: рассве́рливать (rassvérlivatʹ) — to enlarge a hole
- Spanish: escariar — to enlarge a hole
- Swedish: brotscha — to enlarge a hole
- Swedish: upprymma — to enlarge a hole
- Finnish: aarporata — to shape or form, especially using a reamer
- Bulgarian: райберовам (rajberovam) — to remove material by reaming
- Catalan: barrinar — to remove material by reaming
- Czech: vystružit — to remove material by reaming
- Finnish: aarporata — to remove material by reaming
- German: entgraten — to remove burrs and debris from a freshly bored hole
- Finnish: vaahdota — slang: to yell at or berate
- Finnish: keuhkota — slang: to yell at or berate
- Bulgarian: поря (porja) — slang: to sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way
- Finnish: survoa — slang: to sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way