ramrod

1 of 4

noun

ram·​rod ˈram-ˌräd How to pronounce ramrod (audio)
1
: a rod for ramming home the charge in a muzzle-loading firearm
2
: a cleaning rod for small arms
3

ramrod

2 of 4

adjective

: marked by rigidity, severity, or stiffness

ramrod

3 of 4

verb

ramrodded; ramrodding; ramrods

transitive verb

1
: to force with a ramrod
ramrodded the charge into the muzzle
often used figuratively
He refused to be ramrodded into his decision.
… a self-made millionaire and visionary entrepreneur who as the fair's chairman ramrodded the project through from conception to completion.Joyce Leviton
They tried to ramrod the bill through the legislature.
2
: to direct, supervise, and control
… the police sergeant chosen by Dick Snider to ramrod his fledgling Border Crime Task Force.Joseph Wambaugh

ramrod

4 of 4

adverb

: in a fully upright position : rigidly
sat ramrod straight

Examples of ramrod in a Sentence

Adjective a ramrod camp director who's been known to send kids home for a minor infraction of the rules
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In private, Mayorkas—who is short, fit, and bald, with bushy eyebrows and a cadet’s ramrod posture—is ironic, sharp-witted, and charismatic, a raconteur who leaps out of his seat to exaggerate a detail or deliver a punch line. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024 General Kitson was short and stocky, with a ramrod posture and a high, nasal voice. Clay Risen, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
That included tutorials on how to talk to older Black people, to drop some of his ramrod military formality and to be more self-deprecating in the store. Margaret Coker, ProPublica, 19 Jan. 2023 Nine months later, the parish's electric lines have been replaced by ramrod straight poles. Rebecca Santana, ajc, 30 May 2021
Verb
The Pleasanton City Council is using scare tactics to ramrod a permanent half-cent sales tax increase to the citizens. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 28 June 2024 Into the Great Unknown, then, goes Donald H. Rumsfeld, who died Tuesday at 88, and whose tenure as George W. Bush’s defense secretary was a monument to both ramrod certainty and tactical equivocation, the twin dogmas of Washington. Washington Post, 1 July 2021 See all Example Sentences for ramrod 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ramrod.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1706, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1850, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1912, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1954, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ramrod was in 1706

Dictionary Entries Near ramrod

Cite this Entry

“Ramrod.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ramrod. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

ramrod

1 of 3 noun
ram·​rod ˈram-ˌräd How to pronounce ramrod (audio)
: a rod for ramming the charge down the barrel in a muzzle-loading firearm

ramrod

2 of 3 adjective
: not flexible : very strict

ramrod

3 of 3 adverb
: in a fully upright position : rigidly
sat ramrod straight

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