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)
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ramped,
past participle, past
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ramping
present participle
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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.
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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.
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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)
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ramps,
present (3rd person singular)
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ramped,
past participle, past
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ramping
present participle
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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
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(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
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have been rampingperfect progressive
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has been rampingperfect progressive
Past
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rampedsimple
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had rampedperfect
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was rampingprogressive
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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:
They unsurprisingly struggled without significant contributions from their Australian superstars - Phoebe Litchfield was caught attempting a ramp off Charley Phillips for 10 and Annabel Sutherland was stumped off Georgia Adams for 25.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Ospina is a onetime history teacher turned librarian, who is on a mission to increase library use and ramp up reading — and has earned several district awards for getting students hooked on books.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
"Is he simply going to ramp up the name of Liverpool in order to make as much money as possible?"
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The analysts note that China’s advanced logic capacity could ramp quickly, providing increased support for domestic AI chip production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Ethel gave him a happy yap, and Fred scrambled up a ramp into the back of the van.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
LA28 said in a statement it is focused on building upon UCLA’s existing accessibility foundation while exploring additional modifications and services to support Paralympic athletes and team officials, such as temporary ramps and modified restrooms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
But this latest move ramps up the pressure once again in world football's unprecedented civil war.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
PMB Technology is expected to pivot from silicon metal manufacturing to higher-value silicon-aluminium alloy smelting, a move that could improve long-term profitability, though meaningful earnings contributions are unlikely before production ramps up in 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
As Europe ramps up its rearmament drive, US aerospace giant Boeing is seeking a foothold in the emerging market for autonomous fighter aircraft, showcasing its capabilities at the Farnborough airshow this week.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Trucks and tanks roared down the ramps of LSTs.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
Suppliers such as Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride and Wayne-Sanderson Farms ramped up offerings of boneless chicken breasts, wings and thighs over the past year to meet what was expected to be a surge in demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Except Catalent was a company that had grown fast when it ramped up to produce COVID-19 vaccines, and it came with known manufacturing issues.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
But all told, the pro-Stevens PACs were outspending their competition 12 to 1 as the race ramped up in mid-July.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Even though consumer spending on the vehicles has ramped up, Michalek said, “it’s not that people started liking electric vehicles more. ... It’s because electric vehicles kept getting better and cheaper.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Then the road widened again and the oxen ramped up their speed, seemingly unconcerned about the damage to their carts.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
German automakers are ramping up cost-cutting measures in response to a sluggish European market, overcapacity in the EV sector, and the rising strength of Chinese rivals.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
"We do know, as I've mentioned before, that this is a significant, I guess, ramping up period for air services in terms of recruiting, training, and qualifying air traffic controllers," he added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“With multiple contracts ramping up through CY26 and a healthy tender pipeline for new and existing projects, we see growth accelerating,” says Macquarie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Habitat protection or restoration projects have been ramping up, but they are not keeping pace with destruction, particularly in the most critical areas.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
