ramble
Americanverb (used without object)
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to wander around in a leisurely, aimless manner.
They rambled through the shops until closing time.
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to take a course with many turns or windings, as a stream or path.
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to grow in a random, unsystematic fashion.
The vine rambled over the walls and tree trunks.
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to talk or write in a discursive, aimless way (usually followed byon ).
The speaker rambled on with anecdote after anecdote.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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to stroll about freely, as for relaxation, with no particular direction
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(of paths, streams, etc) to follow a winding course; meander
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(of plants) to grow in a random fashion
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(of speech, writing, etc) to lack organization
noun
Synonym Usage
See roam.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ramblesimple
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ramblessimple
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have rambledperfect
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has rambledperfect
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am ramblingprogressive
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are ramblingprogressive
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is ramblingprogressive
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have been ramblingperfect progressive
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has been ramblingperfect progressive
Past
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rambledsimple
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had rambledperfect
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was ramblingprogressive
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were ramblingprogressive
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had been ramblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ramble
First recorded in 1610–20; origin uncertain
Explanation
You ramble when your talking or your walking goes on and on and on. And on. You’re in no hurry to make a point or get to your destination — if there is one at all. The word ramble comes from similar roots as roam. They both mean wander, but they’re often used a little differently. You might roam around on vacation to relax or find adventure. If you’re a shark, you roam the deep sea for food. On the other hand, if the person on the plane next to you chatters nervously and can’t stop, you wish they wouldn’t ramble on like that.
Vocabulary lists containing ramble
25 Ways of Walking
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Look Both Ways
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Wish
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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.
The Curious Coffee Company in Haxby, near York, hosts a "Coffee Rave" on the first Thursday of every month, in partnership with mental health walking group Rant & Ramble.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
So when he sees an unleashed dog running roughshod through the Ramble on the day he’s on the hunt for a ground-dwelling mourning warbler, he reminds the owner of the leash law.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2024
He chronicles those 330 miles with a veteran reporter’s sharp curiosity and a historian’s discernment in his remarkable new book, “American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal.”
From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2023
Only five times during his ownership has Chelsea made a profit, according to the respected Swiss Ramble account on Twitter that analyzes club accounts.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 11, 2022
Mattie’s Ramble Inn looked like all the buildings on its block; it was low, unpainted, imperfectly vertical.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
