ramp
1 Americannoun
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a sloping surface connecting two levels; incline.
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a short concave slope or bend, as one connecting the higher and lower parts of a staircase railing at a landing.
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any extensive sloping walk or passageway.
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the act of ramping.
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Also called boarding ramp. a movable staircase for entering or leaving a cabin door of an airplane.
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Also called parking ramp. apron.
verb (used without object)
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ramps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ramped,
past participle, past
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ramping
present participle
-
to rise or grow steadily; climb.
The private debt crisis is due partly to insanely ramping student loan debt.
Here are my top 10 tips for ramping quickly in a new sales role.
-
Chiefly British. to rush or dash about (usually followed by about oraround ).
No need to go ramping around to different plant nurseries—we have the perfect soil mix right here.
Our littlest guests can enjoy themselves ramping about the adventure playroom.
-
to act or move about wildly or furiously; rage; storm (often followed by about oraround ).
If it were me ramping and raging in here like that, you'd call security to escort me out.
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(of a lion or other large quadruped on a coat of arms) to be depicted in a stylized way, standing on the hind legs with forelegs raised.
The green ramping lion on the silver shield is taken from the Shireburn coat of arms.
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(of an animal) to stand or move with the forelegs raised, as in animosity or excitement; rear.
The painting shows Napoleon astride a ramping horse.
The author vividly describes the angry bear ramping from side to side.
verb (used with object)
-
ramps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ramped,
past participle, past
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ramping
present participle
-
to provide with a ramp or ramps.
Entrances will be ramped to accommodate those in wheelchairs.
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to increase or raise in amount, intensity, extent, etc., especially steadily; build.
They’ve come up with a plan to ramp national production of renewable energy.
Suddenly, after a barrage of wordy lyrics, she ramps the song into soaring gospel mode.
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British. to buy up (shares) in order to generate demand and increase the share price, with the fraudulent intention of quickly selling afterward.
The bank's brokers have been accused of ramping shares in a mining company.
verb phrase
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ramp up. see ramp-up.
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ramp along to sail on a tack with all sails filled.
noun
noun
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a sloping floor, path, etc, that joins two surfaces at different levels
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a movable stairway by which passengers enter and leave an aircraft
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the act of ramping
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slang a swindle, esp one involving exorbitant prices
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another name for sleeping policeman
verb
-
(intr; often foll by about or around) (esp of animals) to rush around in a wild excited manner
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to act in a violent or threatening manner, as when angry (esp in the phrase ramp and rage )
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(tr) finance to buy (a security) in the market with the object of raising its price and enhancing the image of the company behind it for financial gain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rampsimple
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rampssimple
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have rampedperfect
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has rampedperfect
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am rampingprogressive
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are rampingprogressive
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is rampingprogressive
-
have been rampingperfect progressive
-
has been rampingperfect progressive
Past
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rampedsimple
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had rampedperfect
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was rampingprogressive
-
were rampingprogressive
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had been rampingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ramp1
First recorded in 1350–1400; (for the verb) Middle English ra(u)mpen “to creep, crawl, climb,” from Old French ramper, ranper “to creep, crawl, climb”; (for the noun) from French rampe, derivative of ramper, ranper
Origin of ramp2
First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from ramps, ramson, variant (with intrusive p ) of rams, earlier rammys, originally the singular of ramson
Explanation
A ramp is a slope or an incline, a surface that tilts from one level to another. Someone using a wheelchair might need a ramp to get from the doorway of a building down to its parking lot. A skateboarder might use a ramp to gather speed, while a man pushing a stroller uses it to push his baby onto the sidewalk after crossing the street. Passengers also walk down ramps when they exit boats and trains. There's also the plant called a ramp, also known as wild onion or wild garlic. As a verb, to ramp means to provide with a ramp, but the more common "to ramp up" means "to increase."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I look at it as an exit ramp," she adds.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Asian stocks plunged Thursday as tech firms suffered another painful rout after forecast-topping US inflation data fuelled expectations the Federal Reserve will have to ramp interest rates higher.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
While major Middle East producers have managed to ramp up crude supplies in recent weeks, physical markets continue to signal severe tightness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The season’s first Santa Ana wind event will begin Wednesday and ramp up Thursday, bringing significant fire risk to parched Los Angeles County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
A couple rushed by him, thanking him for what he’d done, then bolted toward the ramp.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Australian company Ocius has been operating the Bluebottle fleet from a military base in Darwin in northern Australia, and opened an east coast factory in Sydney on Friday as it ramps up production.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Young people took turns on the ramps outside Neighbors Skate Shop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
In a separate note to clients, Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker warned that while autonomous trucking is “more real than ever,” it’s also still just a “promise” until commercial production ramps up in 2027.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Boston Scientific expects to recover some lost revenue as it ramps up operations and plans to provide updated guidance on Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
I’m crutching my way around school today, and it’s been going okay, except for the ramps.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Broadcasters have ramped up experiments with format, style and tone - Disney+ even had a dog on set during their coverage - but perhaps unsurprisingly, not every idea proves to be successful.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Saudi ministry official went on to accuse the Houthis of refusing to meet as fighting ramped up between the two sides.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The district concurrently ramped up student support through the Black Student Achievement Plan and other efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The region’s major crude producers have ramped up supplies through alternative pipelines, ports and ship-to-ship transfers to navigate disruptions due to the Iran conflict.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Without fanfare, work on the Bevatron was halted and ramped up instead on the Materials Testing Accelerator, or MTA, as the new machine was inelegantly dubbed.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Sweeney said ramping up the use of AI is Epic's "modest aim to survive the AI revolution" and end up "making better code and content faster".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Executives at the conference listed the challenges to ramping up output: power cuts, a small pool of experienced contractors, and the difficulty of securing project financing while navigating a web of U.S. sanctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Fundamental support for those stocks is broadening out, with manufacturing backlogs ramping up across machinery, fabricated metals and other categories, and manufacturing data showing a buildup in orders, strategists said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Taiwan's Defence Minister Wellington Koo said previously it would be "challenging" for all the F-16Vs to be delivered this year, despite Lockheed Martin ramping up production.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The plant was built with sufficient room to install more tanks if production failed to continue ramping up.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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