Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A rod used to force the charge into a muzzleloading firearm.
- noun A rod used to clean the barrel of a firearm.
- noun A harshly demanding overseer; a disciplinarian.
- transitive verb To exert strict control over; supervise closely.
- transitive verb To force passage or acceptance of.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A rod for ramming down the charge of a gun, pistol, or other firearm, especially for small hand-fire-arms. (Compare
rammer .)
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The rod used in ramming home the charge in a muzzle-loading firearm.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Device used with early
firearms to push theprojectile up against thepropellant . - noun
Ranch or trailforeman , usually the first or second person in charge. The person responsible for getting the work done. - noun military A
World War II code name for short range fighter and bomber attacks to destroy ground targets, similar tocircus attacks. - noun slang The
penis . - verb transitive To
force .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a rod used to clean the barrel of a firearm
- noun a harshly demanding overseer
- noun a rod used to ram the charge into a muzzle-loading firearm
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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A steel ramrod from a musket is a wild whipping thing, and Phil is right -- it kicks like a bronco.
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A steel ramrod from a musket is a wild whipping thing, and Phil is right -- it kicks like a bronco.
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I've read that "back in the day" when muzzleloaders were used in battle, shooting the ramrod was the last resort when out of ammo.
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I've read that "back in the day" when muzzleloaders were used in battle, shooting the ramrod was the last resort when out of ammo.
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From this the parts descend gradually to a little wire called the ramrod-spring-wire, the value of which is only one mill.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 72, October, 1863 Various
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Without the ramrod, which is now missing, it weighs only 5 lbs.
Marie An Episode in The Life of the late Allan Quatermain Henry Rider Haggard 1890
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A fellow who "skinned his flint" was looked upon as being a parsimonious, penny-pinching, stingy cheapskate — a veritable skinflint. ramrod A ramrod is a rod of wood or metal for ramming the ball and patch down the barrel of a muzzleloading firearm and setting them against the main powder charge.
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This miraculously changed the word "ramrod" in paragraph seventeen of chapter twenty-three, into the word "benediction" trust me on this and utterly transformed the story from dogshit into a song of the divine.
Archive 2006-11-01 Matthew Sanborn Smith 2006
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This miraculously changed the word "ramrod" in paragraph seventeen of chapter twenty-three, into the word "benediction" trust me on this and utterly transformed the story from dogshit into a song of the divine.
The Book Matthew Sanborn Smith 2006
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I wrung his hand with indescribable relief, and he sent the "ramrod" on guard, to saddle my horse.
Campaigns of a Non-Combatant, and His Romaunt Abroad During the War George Alfred Townsend 1877
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