random-access memory

ran·dom-ac·cess memory

(răn′dəm-ăk′sĕs)n. RAM.

ram

(ræm)

n., v. rammed, ram•ming. n. 1. a male sheep. 2. (cap.) Aries. 3. any of various devices for crushing, driving, or forcing something, as a battering ram. 4. (formerly) a heavy beak or spur projecting from the bow of a warship for penetrating the hull of an enemy's ship. 5. a warship so equipped. v.t. 6. to drive or force by heavy blows. 7. to dash violently against. 8. to cram; stuff. 9. to push firmly; force: to ram a bill through the Senate. 10. to force (a charge) into a firearm, as with a ramrod. [before 900; Middle English: male sheep, machine for ramming, Old English ram(m)]

RAM

(ræm)

n. volatile computer memory, used for creating, loading, and running programs and for manipulating and temporarily storing data; main memory. Compare ROM. [1955–60; r(andom)-a(ccess) m(emory)]

ran·dom-ac·cess memory

(răn′dəm-ăk′sĕs) See RAM.

Thesaurus

Noun

random-access memory - the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on; an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed in any order and all storage locations are equally accessibleRAM, random access memory, random memory, read/write memorybuffer storage, buffer store, buffer - (computer science) a part of RAM used for temporary storage of data that is waiting to be sent to a device; used to compensate for differences in the rate of flow of data between components of a computer systemmagnetic core, core - (computer science) a tiny ferrite toroid formerly used in a random access memory to store one bit of data; now superseded by semiconductor memories; "each core has three wires passing through it, providing the means to select and detect the contents of each bit"core memory, magnetic core memory - (computer science) a computer memory consisting of an array of magnetic cores; now superseded by semiconductor memoriesRAM disk - (computer science) a virtual drive that is created by setting aside part of the random-access memory to use as if it were a group of sectors; "access to a RAM disk is very fast but the data it contains is lost when the system is turned off"volatile storage - computer storage that is erased when the power is turned off

random-access memory

[′ran·dəm ¦ak‚ses ′mem·rē] (computer science) A data storage device having the property that the time required to access a randomly selected datum does not depend on the time of the last access or the location of the most recently accessed datum. Abbreviated RAM. Also known as direct-access memory; direct-access storage; random-access storage; random storage; uniformly accessible storage.

random-access memory

(storage)(RAM) (Previously "direct-access memory"). A datastorage device for which the order of access to differentlocations does not affect the speed of access. This is incontrast to, say, a magnetic disk, magnetic tape or amercury delay line where it is very much quicker to accessdata sequentially because accessing a non-sequential locationrequires physical movement of the storage medium rather thanjust electronic switching.

In the 1970s magnetic core memory was used and someold-timers still call RAM "core". The most common form of RAMin use today is semiconductor integrated circuits, whichcan be either static random-access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random-access memory (DRAM).

The term "RAM" has gained the additional meaning ofread-write. Most kinds of semiconductor read-only memory(ROM) are actually "random access" in the above sense but arenever referred to as RAM. Furthermore, memory referred to asRAM can usually be read and written equally quickly(approximately), in contrast to the various kinds ofprogrammable read-only memory. Finally, RAM is usuallyvolatile though non-volatile random-access memory is alsoused.

Interestingly, some DRAM devices are not truly random accessbecause various kinds of "page mode" or "column mode" meanthat sequential access is faster than random access.

The humorous expansion "Rarely Adequate Memory" refers to thefact that programs and data always seem to expand to fill thememory available.

random-access memory

noun

Synonyms for random-access memory

noun the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on

Synonyms

RAM
random access memory
random memory
read/write memory

Related Words

buffer storage
buffer store
buffer
magnetic core
core
core memory
magnetic core memory
RAM disk
volatile storage