romp
Americanverb (used without object)
-
romps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
romped,
past participle, past
-
romping
present participle
-
to play or frolic in a lively or boisterous manner.
- Synonyms:
- gambol
-
to run or go rapidly and without effort, as in racing.
-
to win easily.
noun
-
romps
plural
-
a lively or boisterous frolic.
- Synonyms:
- gambol
-
a person who romps.
-
a quick or effortless pace.
The work was easy, and he went through it in a romp.
-
an effortless victory.
verb
-
to play or run about wildly, boisterously, or joyfully
-
to win a race easily
noun
-
a noisy or boisterous game or prank
-
an instance of sexual activity between two or more people that is entered into light-heartedly and without emotional commitment
naked sex romps
-
Also called: romper. archaic a playful or boisterous child, esp a girl
-
an easy victory
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rompsimple
-
rompssimple
-
have rompedperfect
-
has rompedperfect
-
am rompingprogressive
-
are rompingprogressive
-
is rompingprogressive
-
have been rompingperfect progressive
-
has been rompingperfect progressive
Past
-
rompedsimple
-
had rompedperfect
-
was rompingprogressive
-
were rompingprogressive
-
had been rompingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of romp
1700–10; perhaps variant of ramp 1 (v.); compare obsolete ramp rough woman, literally, one who ramps
Explanation
To romp is to play or cavort. On a busy day at a playground, you can watch happy kids romp. When you romp, you don't entertain yourself quietly, but instead run around laughing or otherwise frolic with energy and enthusiasm. You can also call a wonderful, fun activity a romp: "Her party was a total romp!" The verb romp probably comes from the now-obsolete ramp, "to climb" (for a human), or "to stand on hind legs" (for an animal).
Vocabulary lists containing romp
Party Parlance for Mardi Gras
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: December 30, 2017 - January 5, 2018
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Mardi Gras: Fun
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Yet, I’d also like to see Hollywood make a PG-13 family romp without having to get so self-conscious about it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
But this could be the perfect trashy romp for the end of summer.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
That was true of both the Hurricanes and the Golden Knights in their romp to the championship round.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The set piece is a daring, madcap, Wes Anderson-esque romp through San Francisco all the way to the Metro Designers factory in China, where worker conditions are grim and hazardous.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
They just laughed and ran in a game that was partly tag, partly piggy-in-the-middle, and partly just a magnificent romp.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
When Ritchson isn’t barreling through that summertime face-punching tour, he fronts pleasing if unchallenging straight-to-streaming romps like “Playdate” and “War Machine.”
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Forget rambunctious kids, overserved nights at the bar or wild pool romps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The movies have been fun, action-packed romps, the kind of thing that used to make $100 million in a theater over the summer.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
After years of weathering the #AfterDark absurdity of the Pac-12 Conference, USC hoped moving to the Big Ten might help kick most of those bizarre midnight romps from its calendar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
The children were required to study only one hour in the evening, and soon books were laid aside and they ran off to the nursery for a game of romps before going to bed.
From Mildred's New Daughter by Martha Finley
Hannah Spencer took Gorton and Denton for the Greens while Burnham romped to victory in Makerfield for Labour.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The tie-less, suit-less Corbyn romped to victory in that contest, beating Burnham into second place.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
A 40-year-old project manager at the Getty Research Institute, Dwyer held his 2-year-old daughter as his son, 6, romped on a pleasant afternoon in Sierra Madre’s Memorial Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026
Profits, after an initial hit, romped to new highs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
Mrs. O'Leary romped around happily, eating everybody’s table scraps.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
But Hall and Faris, now playing the dotty mothers of the next generation of victims, are hilarious, romping about like their Brenda and Cindy have clearly been knocked on the head too often.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
The square is quiet, no garlic wreaths, no romping crowd, no fiesta.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
Alex Marquez dominated the Malaysian MotoGP on Sunday to clinch his third victory of the season, romping home more than two seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025
After romping to victory over Rakhimova, Sabalenka took photographs of her bags and the court with a polaroid camera - something which has become a tradition for her this season.
From BBC ● May 25, 2025
“I bet Charlotte Hamilton is romping in some cool beach water down in South Carolina.”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
