ream
/ɹiːm/
"ream" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ream” is an uncommon English word, ranked #57,009 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #57,009
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ream |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹiːm/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #57,009 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ream” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ream is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹiːm/. Corpus data places it at rank #57,009 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.".
ream doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reme, rem, from Old English rēam (“cream”), from Proto-West Germanic *raum, from Proto-Germanic *raumaz (“cream”), from Proto-Indo-European *réwgʰmn̥ (“to sour [milk]”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Room (“cream”), West Frisian rjemme … The correct English form is ream, spelled R-E-A-M.
Definition
- 1Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.
Etymology
From Middle English reme, rem, from Old English rēam (“cream”), from Proto-West Germanic *raum, from Proto-Germanic *raumaz (“cream”), from Proto-Indo-European *réwgʰmn̥ (“to sour [milk]”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Room (“cream”), West Frisian rjemme (“cream”), Dutch room (“cream”), German Low German Rahm, Rohm (“cream”), German Rahm (“cream”), Swedish römme (“cream”), Norwegian rømme (“sour cream”), Faroese rómi (“cream”), Icelandic rjómi (“cream”). See also ramekin.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ream”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-A-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹiːm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.