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

Traditionally, the ice ridges were believed to represent the path of a god crossing the lake to visit his goddess wife.

From Barron's

They moved forward, blinking, climbing over the ridges and drifts that covered the floor, gazing in wonder.

From Literature

Sands fell from a ridge above a popular winter mountaineering section known as the Baldy Bowl in January 2023.

From Los Angeles Times

He could see the entire length of the sea, the ridges of Northern Ireland on the other half.

From Literature

The skier, who has not been identified, was attempting a run called Dropout 2 — among the steepest marked trails in California — which descends from the summit ridge of the 11,000-foot mountain.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hill
• rim