ram down

ram down

1. To force something down into or through something else. He tried ramming a stick down the pipe to clear the blockage, but it ended up getting stuck in there. The government has come under fire for ordering prison staff to ram food down the hunger strikers' throats.

2. To cram or pack something down by pounding it forcefully. No matter how hard I ram these clothes down, I just can't get the suitcase to close shut. Don't ram down the soil like that, or the seed won't be able to sprout properly.

3. To force something to topple over by pounding into it. Police were forced to ram the suspect's door down after he refused to cooperate. We'll have to ram down this part of the wall with the bulldozer.

4. To force, compel, or attempt to make someone accept, endure, consider, or agree with or to something. Always followed by "(one's) throat." I hate going to my friend's house because his husband's always ramming political rhetoric down my throat. Look, I'm just browsing around for a car, quit trying to ram one down my throat!

See also: down, ram

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

ram something down

to pack something down by pounding, as with a ram. The worker used a pole to ram the earth down and pack it tight. The worker rammed down the earth.

See also: down, ram

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

ram down

v.

1. To break something down by pounding with or as if with a ram: The attacking army rammed down the fortress wall using a huge log. The truck rammed the tree down.

2. To force the passage or acceptance of something into something: The plumber rammed the plunger down the pipe.

See also: down, ram

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.