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
Bosses said they planned to use proceeds to help pay for an access ramp at the venue on Cornwall's south coast.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The U.S. also needs to ramp up its use of camouflage, concealment and deception, as both Iran and Ukraine have done.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
They had made it outside, down the wheelchair ramp, and out onto the sidewalk.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
But this latest move ramps up the pressure once again in world football's unprecedented civil war.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Just like ramps and elevators help everyone, neurodiversity-affirming adjustments make the world more accessible for all of us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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
This is supported by a cleaner product mix, as its D19 model begins to contribute to the sales and A10 model ramps as a volume driver.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The performers stretch grumpily and gather in groups to talk and smoke as the workmen drop ramps and unload stock.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
The option it used to defer payments became a popular sweetener in the private-credit industry as competition to win deals ramped up, with borrowers deploying it often being considered up-to-date on their loans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 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
"I'm so grateful for the support, and with it being a home Games it feels like that support has been ramped up a bit, which is so nice to experience."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
She whooped to us as she ramped off the top of a wave.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
"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
Tencent has further accelerated ramping up its compute infrastructure to support the anticipated release of the Hy4 model later this year and Weixin AI agent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
More than four years after the start of Russia's large-scale offensive against Ukraine, both countries are ramping up long-range strikes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 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 shrine is ramping up our emotions,’ she said.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
