ridge

[ rij ]
See synonyms for: ridgeridgedridgesridging on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a long, narrow elevation of land; a chain of hills or mountains.

  2. the long and narrow upper edge, angle, or crest of something, as a hill, wave, or vault.

  1. the back of an animal.

  2. any raised, narrow strip, as on cloth.

  3. the horizontal line in which the tops of the rafters of a roof meet.

  4. (on a weather chart) a narrow, elongated area of high pressure.

verb (used with object),ridged, ridg·ing.
  1. to provide with or form into a ridge or ridges.

  2. to mark with or as if with ridges.

verb (used without object),ridged, ridg·ing.
  1. to form ridges.

Origin of ridge

1
before 900; Middle English rigge (noun), Old English hrycg spine, crest, ridge; cognate with Dutch rug,German Rücken,Old Norse hryggr

Other words from ridge

  • ridgelike, adjective
  • un·ridged, adjective

Words Nearby ridge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ridge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ridge

ridge

/ (rɪdʒ) /


noun
  1. a long narrow raised land formation with sloping sides esp one formed by the meeting of two faces of a mountain or of a mountain buttress or spur

  2. any long narrow raised strip or elevation, as on a fabric or in ploughed land

  1. anatomy any elongated raised margin or border on a bone, tooth, tissue membrane, etc

    • the top of a roof at the junction of two sloping sides

    • (as modifier): a ridge tile

  2. the back or backbone of an animal, esp a whale

  3. meteorol an elongated area of high pressure, esp an extension of an anticyclone: Compare trough (def. 4)

verb
  1. to form into a ridge or ridges

Origin of ridge

1
Old English hrycg; related to Old High German hrucki, Old Norse hryggr

Derived forms of ridge

  • ridgelike, adjective
  • ridgy, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for ridge

ridge

[ rĭj ]


  1. A long narrow chain of hills or mountains.

  1. A narrow, elongated zone of relatively high atmospheric pressure associated with an area of peak anticyclonic circulation. Compare trough.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.