ramp

[ramp]

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noun

a sloping surface connecting two levels; incline.

a short concave slope or bend, as one connecting the higher and lower parts of a staircase railing at a landing.

any extensive sloping walk or passageway.

the act of ramping.

Also called boarding ramp. a movable staircase for entering or leaving a cabin door of an airplane.

Also called parking ramp. apron(def 6).

verb (used without object)

(of animals) to stand or move with the forelegs or arms raised, as in animosity or excitement.

(of a lion or other large quadruped represented on a coat of arms) to rise or stand on the hind legs.

to rear as if to spring.

to leap or dash with fury (often followed by about).

to act violently; rage; storm: ramping and raging in a great fury.

verb (used with object)

to provide with a ramp or ramps: Entrances will be ramped to accommodate those in wheelchairs.

Verb Phrases

ramp along, Nautical. to sail on a tack with all sails filled.

Origin of ramp

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English rampen < Old French ramper to creep, crawl, climb; (noun) < French rampe, derivative of ramper

Related formsramp·ing·ly, adverbun·ramped, adjective

ramp

[ramp]

noun Usually ramps.

a wild onion, Allium tricoccum, of the amaryllis family, of eastern North America, having flat leaves and rounded clusters of whitish flowers; eaten raw or used as a flavoring in cooked foods.

Origin of ramp

1530–40; back formation from ramps ramson, variant (with intrusive p) of rams, earlier rammys, orig. the singular of ramson

Also called wild leek.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ramp

slope, adit, grade, rise, access, gradient, hill, inclination

Examples from the Web for ramp

Contemporary Examples of ramp

Jimbo and I walked up its ramp and into the hull, which looked like the gutted inside of a school bus.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
Jimbo and I headed towards the ramp when the crew chief grabbed us.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
“The Zone” is of course the ramp where Jews arriving by train are selected for slavery or gas.
How Hitch & Amis Discovered Evil In My House
Peter Foges
September 28, 2014
Jaffe calls the approach “an off ramp before jail, a fence at the edge of the cliff rather than an ambulance at the bottom.”
SB Shooting Prompts Question: Should Parents of Mentally Ill Adults Be Able To Commit Them?
Eleanor Clift
May 30, 2014
Led by the color guard, and several chaplains, the detail shuffle-stepped toward the plane and up the ramp.
How the Dead Come Home From Afghanistan
Nick Willard
May 9, 2014

Historical Examples of ramp

Pieter Heemskerk stood by the ramp to the stubby G-boat and checked his watch.
Wind
Charles Louis Fontenay
In two minutes, it would be time for him to walk up the ramp into the G-boat.
Wind
Charles Louis Fontenay
The station was completely empty as Ravdin walked down the ramp to the shuttles.
The Link
Alan Edward Nourse
He shot him and ran up the ramp as the officer's body rolled down it.
Space Prison
Tom Godwin
When he saw the ramp running from the ship to the ground, he was dismayed.
The Stutterer
R.R. Merliss

British Dictionary definitions for ramp

ramp

noun

a sloping floor, path, etc, that joins two surfaces at different levels

a movable stairway by which passengers enter and leave an aircraft

the act of ramping

British slang a swindle, esp one involving exorbitant prices

another name for sleeping policeman

verb

(intr ; often foll by about or around) (esp of animals) to rush around in a wild excited manner

to act in a violent or threatening manner, as when angry (esp in the phrase ramp and rage)

(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

Word Origin for ramp

C18 (n): from C13 rampe, from Old French ramper to crawl or rear, probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Low German ramp cramp

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

Word Origin and History for ramp

n.1

1778, "slope," from French rampe, back-formation from Old French verb ramper "to climb, scale, mount;" see ramp (v.). Meaning "road on or off a major highway" is from 1952, American English.

n.2

"rude, boisterous girl or woman," mid-15c., perhaps from ramp (v.). Cf. romp in Johnson's Dictionary (1755): "a rude, awkward, boisterous, untaught girl."

c.1300, "to climb; to stand on the hind legs" (of animals), from Old French ramper "to climb, scale, mount" (12c., in Modern French "to creep, crawl"), perhaps from Frankish *rampon "to contract oneself" (cf. Old High German rimpfan "to wrinkle," Old English hrimpan "to fold, wrinkle"), via notion of the bodily contraction involved in climbing [Klein], from Proto-Germanic *hrimp- "to contract oneself." Related: Ramped; ramping.