ramrod

[US]/'ræmrɒd/
[UK]/'ræm'rɑd/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

n. a rod used for ramming or driving something with force
adj. strict, stiff, or severe in manner or attitude
Word Forms
Past Tenseramrodded
Pluralramrods
Past Participleramrodded

Example Sentences

he held himself ramrod straight.

As she walked in she could feel the tension in the room, with her mother sitting ramrod straight in her chair.

He stood ramrod straight during the entire presentation.

The drill sergeant's orders were delivered with a ramrod tone.

She held the ramrod firmly in her hands.

The old man's posture was ramrod straight despite his age.

The leader's speech was delivered with a ramrod conviction.

The soldier's back was ramrod stiff as he saluted.

She maintained a ramrod discipline in her daily routine.

His gaze was ramrod steady as he faced the challenge.

The strict teacher kept the classroom in ramrod order.

The general's presence was ramrod imposing as he entered the room.

Real-world Examples

You look like you'd swallowed a ramrod and it isn't becoming.

Source: Gone with the Wind

Next he put the ramrod back in its place against the gun barrel.

Source: The little cabin in the big forest.

Catherine draws herself up, her posture ramrod straight as she approaches the table again.

Source: Red White & Royal Blue

Like, there's like—like, they're so like you're saying, they're, like, ramrod straight.

Source: Radio Laboratory

They all rose right up toward the surface of the ocean. Every filament or ribbon, no matter how thin, stood ramrod straight.

Source: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Original Version)

Pa kept pouring in more water and washing48 the gun barrel with the cloth on the ramrod until the water ran out clear.

Source: Little House in the Big Woods (600L)

So Pa would take the ramrod from its place under the gun barrel, and fasten a piece of clean cloth on its end.

Source: The little cabin in the big forest.

Pa kept pouring in more water and washing the gun barrel with the cloth on the ramrod until the water ran out clear.

Source: The little cabin in the big forest.

When he hit them with the ramrod, the ramrod bounced up in the gun barrel, and Pa caught it and thrust it down again.

Source: The little cabin in the big forest.

Then Pa put a clean, greased rag on the ramrod, and while the gun barrel was still hot he greased it well on the inside.

Source: The little cabin in the big forest.

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