a quantity of paper; 480 or 500 sheets; one ream equals 20 quires
<noun.quantity> [ verb ]
squeeze the juice out (of a fruit) with a reamer
<verb.contact> ream oranges
remove by making a hole or by boring
<verb.change> the dentist reamed out the debris in the course of the root canal treatment
enlarge with a reamer
<verb.change> ream a hole
Ream \Ream\ (r[=e]m), n. [AS. re['a]m, akin to G. rahm.] Cream; also, the cream or froth on ale. [Scot.]
Ream \Ream\, v. i. To cream; to mantle. [Scot.]
A huge pewter measuring pot which, in the language of the hostess, reamed with excellent claret. --Sir W. Scott.
Ream \Ream\, v. t. [Cf. {Reim}.] To stretch out; to draw out into thongs, threads, or filaments.
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.
{Printer's ream}, twenty-one and a half quires. [Eng.] A common practice is now to count five hundred sheets to the ream. --Knight.
Ream \Ream\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Reamed} (r[=e]md); p. pr. & vb. n. {Reaming}.] [Cf. G. r["a]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.
After Intergroup's acquisition, though, Mr. Bard left and Mr. Tauscher, the unit's chief executive, took on a ream of outside business interests.