Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rum

/ɹʌm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.63 in modern English

Syllables
rum
IPA
/ɹʌm/
5
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A spirit distilled from various preparations of sugarcane, particularly fermented cane sugar and molasses.

Uncountable

noun

A spirit distilled from various preparations of sugarcane, particularly fermented cane sugar and molasses.

Countable

noun

A spirit distilled from various preparations of sugarcane, particularly fermented cane sugar and molasses.

Countable

noun

A similar spirit distilled from similar preparations of sugarbeets, sorghum, etc.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A strange person or thing.

Countable; Obsolete; Slang; Uncountable

noun

A country parson.

Countable; Obsolete; Slang; Uncountable

adj

Fine, excellent, valuable.

Obsolete

adj

Strange, peculiar.

British usage; Dated; Informal

Example Sentences

Etymology

In common use since at least 1654, of uncertain origin. Theories include: * that it is a shortening of rumbullion or rumbustion, names for rum also attested in the Caribbean during the mid-17th century, * that it derives from rummer, from Dutch roemer, * that it is from a Romani word for "strong, potent" which is (perhaps) the source of ramboozle and rumfustian (however, these drinks were not originally made with rum), * that it derives from rum ("fine, good") or from the last syllable of Latin saccharum (given the harsh taste of earlier rum, this origin is now considered unlikely)

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ɹʌm/
  • British English: /ɹʌm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

rums (plural) rhum (alternative) rummer (comparative) rummest (superlative) Rûm (alternative)

Derived Forms

antirum rumbud Rumchata rumdriver rumhound rumly rummery rummish rumpot rumrunner rumrunning rumseller

Phrases

bay rum bush rum Cumberland rum butter hot buttered rum monkey rum rum baba rum ball rum bosun

Frequently Paired Words

baba au rhum grog rum-tum rum tum ditty

Synonyms

Anatolia and the Byzantine Empire in historical Turkish contexts rumbullion rumbustion kill-devil Nelson's blood odd duck strange fish weirdo abnormality deviant outlier exceptional

Homonyms

rhumb

Rhymes With

from some come become dumb mum sum um drum cum thumb gum

Questions

How do you pronounce rum?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɹʌm/.
What does rum mean?
A spirit distilled from various preparations of sugarcane, particularly fermented cane sugar and molasses.
Where does rum come from?
It is traced to Dutch.

How to pronounce rum

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “rum”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɹʌm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “rum”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “rum” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.