ridge

American  

[rij] / rɪdʒ /

noun

ridges plural

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

Derived Forms

• ridgelike
  adjective
• ridgy
  adjective
• unridged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ridges
  plural

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

Explanation

A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated strip of land or any raised strip or band. A ridge is a line that rises above what it is attached to. Think of a ridge as a combination between rim and edge. From the Old English hrycg, meaning “back of the man or beast” or “the top or crest” of something (combined, the senses mean “backbone”), ridge is often used for the beam that joins the parts of a sloping roof. Ridge also refers to the line formed by hills or mountains, as in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is made up of mountains that lie underneath the Atlantic Ocean.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ridge ridges ridged ridging

Carn said a dramatic escalation appears unlikely because the eruption is associated with a volcanic ridge near the intersection of a transform fault and a back arc spreading center.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

Cold noodles need a dressing with enough substance to coat every curve and ridge, but enough brightness to keep the bowl from feeling stodgy after a few hours in the fridge.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

At least four Israeli soldiers were killed during last week’s advance on Ali al-Taher ridge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

The heat wave stems from “a really strong ridge of high pressure,” Ciliberti said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026

Before long, they were standing at the crest of the ridge, facing a grassy hillside that sloped down to the ocean.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

The facade has vertical ridges running down the side, which Diamond said was inspired by the ribs of Saguaro cactuses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Firefighters were seeking to contain the fire using preexisting features such as roads, ridges and trails rather than carving a fire line through the island’s sensitive ecosystems, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

As the lava cooled and contracted, it folded and crumpled, producing uneven features known as 'wrinkle ridges'.

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026

The oblong ugly vegetable with lizard-like ridges is dark green, holding secrets, grows on thin vines.

From Salon ● May 9, 2026

He felt the grooves and ridges of a carving and knew it was the lotuses on the lid.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

For about $70, a plastic surgeon injected the ridged cartilage of her ears with a hyaluronic-acid filler that caused her ears to perk up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

The curly, ridged shape is perfect for holding onto the thick cheese sauce.

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025

Some placentas have evolved to be disklike, some are leaf-shaped, some ring-shaped, heart-shaped; some are ridged, branched, labyrinthine, or weblike.

From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024

Similar ridged, porous surfaces could enhance air filtration and ventilation systems in skyscrapers and other structures.

From Science Daily ● May 17, 2024

We flew higher and higher, over green valleys and dark, ridged mountains, and then over the coast, waves breaking on the white sands.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

Upper-level ridging will intensify on Thursday, but not before low clouds and patchy fog likely kick off the day again.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

As high pressure, or ridging, builds later this week, the inversion is expected to be squashed down, making the marine layer shallower.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2023

Applying a clustering technique to the 124 largest outbreaks, he found four patterns — and in all, there was mid-tropospheric high-pressure ridging centered over different portions of western North America.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 24, 2022

The researchers found that there’s an increased risk of combined ozone and particulate matter pollution during atmospheric ridging events.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 6, 2022

Occasionally he checked himself in some alarm, to wonder what meant that ridging of the Cap'n's jaw-muscles, and whether he really heard the seaman's teeth gritting.

From The Skipper and the Skipped Being the Shore Log of Cap'n Aaron Sproul by Day, Holman

Related Words

• hill
• rim