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ream

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ream¹

  • /ɹiːm/

Sounds like rheme · Rhymes with -iːm

Where it comes from

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.

noun reem · raim

  1. Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.

verb reams · reaming · reamed · reem · raim

  1. Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal To cream; mantle; foam; froth. a huge pewter measuring pot […] which, in the language of the hostess, reamed with excellent claret

ream²

  • /ɹiːm/

Sounds like rheme · Rhymes with -iːm

Where it comes from

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”).

verb reams · reaming · reamed · reem · rim

  1. transitive To enlarge (a hole), especially using a reamer; to bore (a hole) wider.

    Similar: rime

  2. transitive To remove (material) by reaming.
  3. transitive To remove burrs and debris from inside (something, such as a freshly bored hole) using a tool.

    Similar: rime

  4. To shape or form, especially using a reamer.
  5. broadly, slang, vulgar, from sense of enlarging a hole To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way.

    Similar: dig out

  6. slang To yell at or berate.

    Similar: ream out

Similar: nail, root, tap

ream³

  • /ɹiːm/

Sounds like rheme · Rhymes with -iːm

Where it comes from

From Middle English reme, from Old French raime, rayme (“ream”) (French rame), from Catalan raima (“ream”), from Arabic رِزْمَة (rizma, “bundle”).

noun reams · reme

  1. broadly, figuratively, in plural An extremely large quantity of documents, data, or information that supports a claim, investigation, or case. The accountants requested reams of financial records.
  2. broadly, in plural An abstract large amount of something. I can't go – I still have reams of work left.

    Similar: bunch, load, pile, abundance, battalion, arseload, assload, bellyload, boatload, brimful, busload, bucketful

Ream⁴

Where it comes from

From the German surname, Anglicized from Riehm, Röhm, Roehm.

proper noun

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

verb

Similar: nail, root, tap

Translations

Every language

verb to enlarge a hole

Españolescariar
Françaisaléser
Deutschreiben, aufbohren
Русскийразвёртывать razvjórtyvatʹ, рассве́рливать rassvérlivatʹ

verb to remove burrs and debris from a freshly bored hole

Deutschentgraten

noun bundle of paper

Españolresma
中文令 lǐng
Portuguêsresma
Françaisrame, rame de papier, ramette
DeutschRies
Italianorisma

noun abstract large amount

DeutschMenge

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Cite this
MLA

"ream." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ream. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ream. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ream

Chicago

"ream." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ream.

BibTeX
@misc{ream_2026,
  title = {ream},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ream},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}