ramble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
rambles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rambled,
past participle, past
-
rambling
present participle
-
to wander around in a leisurely, aimless manner.
They rambled through the shops until closing time.
-
to take a course with many turns or windings, as a stream or path.
-
to grow in a random, unsystematic fashion.
The vine rambled over the walls and tree trunks.
-
to talk or write in a discursive, aimless way (usually followed byon ).
The speaker rambled on with anecdote after anecdote.
verb (used with object)
-
rambles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rambled,
past participle, past
-
rambling
present participle
noun
-
rambles
plural
verb
-
to stroll about freely, as for relaxation, with no particular direction
-
(of paths, streams, etc) to follow a winding course; meander
-
(of plants) to grow in a random fashion
-
(of speech, writing, etc) to lack organization
noun
Synonym Usage
See roam.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ramblesimple
-
ramblessimple
-
have rambledperfect
-
has rambledperfect
-
am ramblingprogressive
-
are ramblingprogressive
-
is ramblingprogressive
-
have been ramblingperfect progressive
-
has been ramblingperfect progressive
Past
-
rambledsimple
-
had rambledperfect
-
was ramblingprogressive
-
were ramblingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
In plain language, that means he’s probably going to ramble late into the night about a bunch of baseless conspiracy theories.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
We had planned to visit one of the city’s renowned art museums, but instead opted for a ramble through the Dorsoduro district.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
He could come off as a know-it-all, and he tended to ramble when speaking.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2025
But, more often, he presented it as "a chapter of accidents" and "a diverting and enjoyable ramble through life".
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2024
Thank you, Steven, for watching out for your family, even when your father wasn’t And thank you, All-City members, for a great concert a marvelous show of support and... uhhh, listening to me ramble.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
Among their findings: Weekend automobile rambles were replacing church attendance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Hendrickson rambles for too long before redirecting to his client, asking Lynch about some sort of media venture he’s working on.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2024
The bacteria are shed in the lizard’s feces and can end up on the animal’s skin and just about anywhere the bearded dragon rambles.
From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
"I like the humour of his mind. I like the fact that he that he rambles on but, more than that, he's given me the opportunity to learn so much."
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2023
It used to go with Bunny and me on long, grueling rambles through the countryside every Sunday, over fences and streams, through bogs and pastures.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Asked about defending Taiwan, she rambled about making sure “we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Gaffigan as Walz played up his Midwestern dad-ness and Carvey's Biden rambled while repeatedly calling Thompson's Harvey the name of other game show hosts.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2024
During the 10-minute phone interview, he ranted and rambled and seemed to be accidentally pressing various buttons on his phone, punctuating the broadcast with random beeping—that is, until he was ultimately cut off.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2024
Pragyaan rambled around the lunar surface for 10 days, while Prof Vadawale and his colleagues worked around the clock instructing it to collect data at 70 degree south latitude.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2024
Mom rambled on about the funeral and Dad flying across the country.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
This first half is plotless and rambling, with a crime mystery yielding digressions within digressions within digressions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Though often rambling and incoherent, the letters have taken up the court’s time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
The book also compared the UK to a "rambling stately home" in which the power was only on in some rooms.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
“Every time we talked about the prospect of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship,” he said during a long and at times rambling address.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
They walked quickly around to the east side of the rambling building.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
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.
