rampant
Americanadjective
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violent in action or spirit; raging; furious.
a rampant leopard.
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growing luxuriantly, as weeds.
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in full sway; prevailing or unchecked.
a rampant rumor.
- Synonyms:
- unrestrained, widespread, rife
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(of an animal) standing on the hind legs; ramping.
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Heraldry. (of a beast used as a charge) represented in profile facing the dexter side, with the body upraised and resting on the left hind leg, the tail and other legs elevated, the right foreleg highest, and the head in profile unless otherwise specified.
a lion rampant.
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Architecture. (of an arch or vault) springing at one side from one level of support and resting at the other on a higher level.
adjective
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unrestrained or violent in behaviour, desire, opinions, etc
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growing or developing unchecked
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(postpositive) heraldry (of a beast) standing on the hind legs, the right foreleg raised above the left
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(of an arch) having one abutment higher than the other
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rampant
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French, literally, “creeping, climbing,” present participle of ramper “to creep, crawl, climb”; see ramp 1
Explanation
Rampant means wild or out of control. Unruly children might run rampant at the supermarket, knocking cereal boxes off shelves and thoroughly annoying the customers. If you're running rampant, you're on a rampage. Both come from the French word ramper meaning "to climb, creep" like an animal on hind legs, paws in climbing-mode, or like wild plants such as the kudzu that ran rampant over an old barn until the entire thing was covered. There can also be rampant wildfires that destroy houses in the Southwest, or robots that run rampant in the lab after the janitor accidentally sets them free.
Vocabulary lists containing rampant
The Diary of a Young Girl
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Beowulf
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This Week in Words: September 4 - 8, 2017
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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.
Haitians became eligible for TPS in 2010 following a devastating earthquake and the country continues to suffer from extreme poverty, rampant violence from heavily armed gangs and chronic political instability.
From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026
In spite of its oil wealth, much of its 1.8m population has not benefitted, as poverty remains rampant.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
Sign of the time: Forky gave voice to the anxiety that seemed rampant in young people in the late aughts, fretting he was just trash that should be thrown away.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
Chatter about Donald, 35, has been rampant since last week, when the Rams made another gigantic offseason move by trading for defensive end Myles Garrett.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Murder convictions tend to receive a tremendous amount of media attention, which feeds the public’s sense that violent crime is rampant and forever on the rise.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
