1. The male of the sheep and allied animals. In some parts of England a ram is called a tup.
2. <astronomy> Aries, the sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of March. The constellation Aries, which does not now, as formerly, occupy the sign of the same name.
3. An engine of war used for butting or battering. Specifically: In ancient warfare, a long beam suspended by slings in a framework, and used for battering the walls of cities; a battering-ram.
A heavy steel or iron beak attached to the prow of a steam war vessel for piercing or cutting down the vessel of an enemy; also, a vessel carrying such a beak.
4. A hydraulic ram. See Hydraulic.
5. The weight which strikes the blow, in a pile driver, steam hammer, stamp mill, or the like.
6. The plunger of a hydraulic press. Ram's horn.
A low semicircular work situated in and commanding a ditch.
Alternative forms: ramshorn] .
<paleontology> An ammonite.
Origin: AS. Ramm, ram; akin to OHG. & D. Ram, Prov. G. Ramm, and perh. To Icel. Ramr strong.
(01 Mar 1998)