Ream Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms ream 1 American [reem] / rim /

noun

1. a standard quantity of paper, consisting of 20 quires or 500 sheets (formerly 480 sheets), or 516 sheets printer's ream, or perfect ream.

2. Usually reams. a large quantity.

   He has written reams of poetry.

ream 2 American [reem] / rim /

verb (used with object)

1. to enlarge to desired size (a previously bored hole) by means of a reamer.

2. to clear with a reamer; remove or press out by reaming.

3. to extract the juice from.

   to ream an orange.

4. Slang.

   1. to scold or reprimand severely (usually followed byout ).

   2. to cheat; defraud.

ream 1 British / riːm /

noun

1. a number of sheets of paper, formerly 480 sheets ( short ream ), now 500 sheets ( long ream ) or 516 sheets ( printer's ream or perfect ream ). One ream is equal to 20 quires

2. informal (often plural) a large quantity, esp of written matter

   he wrote reams

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 ream 2 British / riːm /

verb

1. to enlarge (a hole) by use of a reamer

2. to extract (juice) from (a citrus fruit) using a reamer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ream1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rem(e), from Middle French reime, rame, from Spanish rezma, from Arabic rizmah “bale”

Origin of ream2

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Investigators would conduct interviews on campus, review reams of documents for compliance with various statutes and assess such complex matters as when hateful speech is protected by the First Amendment.

From Salon

In the intervening decades, he wrote and revised reams of material set in the distant past of Middle-earth.

From The Wall Street Journal

To pay the soldiers, the seceding government and its president, Jefferson Davis, printed reams of Confederate dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her sculptures, meanwhile, are hanging shapes covered in reams of re-purposed materials including fabric, rope, parcel tape, cling film and paper.

From BBC

Cameras positioned at the entrance track his every move, while reams of barbed wire surround the farm in the rural Free State province in the heart of South Africa.

From BBC

Related Words

• batch
• bundle
• scad
• stack
• ton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.