ridge

American  

[rij] / rɪdʒ /

noun

1. a long, narrow elevation of land; a chain of hills or mountains.

2. the long and narrow upper edge, angle, or crest of something, as a hill, wave, or vault.

3. the back of an animal.

4. any raised, narrow strip, as on cloth.

5. the horizontal line in which the tops of the rafters of a roof meet.

6. (on a weather chart) a narrow, elongated area of high pressure.

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verb (used with object)

ridged, ridging

1. to provide with or form into a ridge or ridges.

2. to mark with or as if with ridges.

verb (used without object)

ridged, ridging

1. to form ridges.

ridge British  

/ rɪdʒ /

noun

1. a long narrow raised land formation with sloping sides esp one formed by the meeting of two faces of a mountain or of a mountain buttress or spur

2. any long narrow raised strip or elevation, as on a fabric or in ploughed land

3. anatomy any elongated raised margin or border on a bone, tooth, tissue membrane, etc

4. 1. the top of a roof at the junction of two sloping sides

   2. ( as modifier )

      a ridge tile

5. the back or backbone of an animal, esp a whale

6. meteorol an elongated area of high pressure, esp an extension of an anticyclone Compare trough

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verb

1. to form into a ridge or ridges

ridge Scientific  

/ rĭj /

1. A long narrow chain of hills or mountains.

2. See mid-ocean ridge

3. A narrow, elongated zone of relatively high atmospheric pressure associated with an area of peak anticyclonic circulation.

4. Compare trough

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Other Word Forms

• ridgelike adjective
• ridgy adjective
• unridged adjective

Etymology

Origin of ridge

before 900; Middle English rigge (noun), Old English hrycg spine, crest, ridge; cognate with Dutch rug, German Rücken, Old Norse hryggr

Example Sentences

Soon after the airman landed, he was able to get to an elevated ridge and make contact by activating an emergency beacon to send his proof of life, according to senior officials.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

"But we don't yet know whether the action that starts the ridge just isn't happening or whether the traffic jam afterward isn't happening," he said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

One came from the top of a ridge, another from bedrock inside a hollow, and a third from an area Curiosity passed through before reaching the ridges.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

Hardesty encountered a large rattlesnake while running along a narrow ridge trail in Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park near Laguna Beach.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Worse news, the patrol had seen the Confederates watching them from the ridge overlooking the ferry.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Related Words

• hill
• rim