Rummy

//ˈɹʌmɪ// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A card game with many rule variants, conceptually similar to mahjong. uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    A rum-drinking alcoholic.

    "No one has forgotten Frank Dodd, the crossing guard who went crazy here twelve years ago and killed those women, and they haven't forgotten the dog, either, the one that came down with rabies and killed Joe Camber and the old rummy down the road from him."

  3. 3
    a card game based on collecting sets and sequences; the winner is the first to meld all their cards wordnet
  4. 4
    a chronic drinker wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Resembling or tasting of rum.

    "a rummy flavour"

  2. 2
    Peculiar; odd. UK, colloquial, dated

    "“You say rummy things and you do rummy things. What I mean to say is, you're impulsive.”"

Adjective
  1. 1
    beyond or deviating from the usual or expected wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
aberrantalcoholicalienbizarreblackjackbooky

Example

More examples

"Tom and Mary are playing Rummy with their friends."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Unknown, with much speculation. Perhaps related to rum via poker slang, or ultimately from German Ruhm.

Etymology 2

From rum + -y.

Related phrases

Indian rummyLiverpool rummyMichigan rummyPersian rummyboathouse rummygin rummyknock rummypinochle rummyrummy noserummy-nose tetracard game

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.