ream

Noun · Verb

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. a large quantity of written matter“he wrote reams and reams”
  2. a quantity of paper; 480 or 500 sheets; one ream equals 20 quires

Verb (3)

  1. squeeze the juice out (of a fruit) with a reamer“ream oranges”
  2. remove by making a hole or by boring“the dentist reamed out the debris in the course of the root canal treatment”
  3. enlarge with a reamer“ream a hole”
Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Ream \Ream\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reamed (r[=e]md); p. pr. & vb. n. Reaming.] [Cf. G. r[aum]umen to remove, to clear away, fr. raum room. See Room.] To bevel out, as the mouth of a hole in wood or metal; in modern usage, to enlarge or dress out, as a hole, with a reamer. [1913 Webster]
Ream \Ream\ (r[=e]m), n. [AS. re['a]m, akin to G. rahm.] Cream; also, the cream or froth on ale. [Scot.] [1913 Webster]
Ream \Ream\, v. i. To cream; to mantle. [Scot.] [1913 Webster]

A huge pewter measuring pot which, in the language of the hostess, reamed with excellent claret. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

Ream \Ream\, v. t. [Cf. Reim.] To stretch out; to draw out into thongs, threads, or filaments. [1913 Webster]
Ream \Ream\, n. [OE. reme, OF. rayme, F. rame (cf. Sp. resma), fr. Ar. rizma a bundle, especially of paper.] A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, usually consisting of twenty quires or 480 sheets. [1913 Webster]

Printer's ream, twenty-one and a half quires. [Eng.] A common practice is now to count five hundred sheets to the ream. --Knight. [1913 Webster]

Advertisement