When you hear about a ram, you might think of it as an animal that lives on a farm or a ranch. But the word "ram" has another meaning too. In engineering and construction, a ram can also refer to a device that forces air into something - like a machine or a pipe - in order to pressurize it. This type of ram is often used in big machines that move things around.
How common is "ram"?
Word ram is considered rare in modern English. It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
Definitions
noun
A male sheep, typically uncastrated
A battering ram; a heavy object used for breaking through doors.
A warship intended to sink other ships by ramming them.
A piston powered by hydraulic pressure.
A weight which strikes a blow, in a ramming device such as a pile driver, a steam hammer, a stamp mill.