romp

American  

[romp] / rɒmp /

verb (used without object)

• romps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• romped,
  past participle,  past
• romping
  present participle

1. to play or frolic in a lively or boisterous manner.

   Synonyms:

   gambol

2. to run or go rapidly and without effort, as in racing.

3. to win easily.

---

noun

• romps
  plural

1. a lively or boisterous frolic.

   Synonyms:

   gambol

2. a person who romps.

3. a quick or effortless pace.

   The work was easy, and he went through it in a romp.

4. an effortless victory.

romp British  

/ rɒmp /

verb

1. to play or run about wildly, boisterously, or joyfully

2. to win a race easily

---

noun

1. a noisy or boisterous game or prank

2. an instance of sexual activity between two or more people that is entered into light-heartedly and without emotional commitment

   naked sex romps

3. Also called: romper. archaic a playful or boisterous child, esp a girl

4. an easy victory

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rompish
  adjective
• rompingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• romps
  plural

Participles

• romping
  present
• romped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• romp
  simple
• romps
  simple
• have romped
  perfect
• has romped
  perfect
• am romping
  progressive
• are romping
  progressive
• is romping
  progressive
• have been romping
  perfect progressive
• has been romping
  perfect progressive

Past

• romped
  simple
• had romped
  perfect
• was romping
  progressive
• were romping
  progressive
• had been romping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will romp
  simple
• will have romped
  perfect
• will be romping
  progressive
• will have been romping
  perfect progressive

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).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

romp romps romped romping

They climb ladders, romp in mud and push each other around in secondhand wheelchairs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Fifty-five minutes into this Rangers romp at Ibrox, Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney stood beside each other in the Celtic technical area, chin-stroking, head-scratching, pointing, waving, drowning.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Michael F. Bishop writes that Robert Harris’s novel provides a “swift-paced romp through a few crucial decades of Roman history.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

But this could be the perfect trashy romp for the end of summer.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

The play she saw as a gentle incursion into another culture we played as a comic romp with great effect.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

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

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

Both were happily violent, high-caliber crime romps, though as is the case with “The Rip”—Mr. Carnahan’s latest, which stars old pals Matt Damon and Ben Affleck—there was more at stake than simply staying alive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

He added: "Moana 2 exhilarates with its tunefulness, and absolutely romps along from the moment the heroine gets off the island, bound for another adventure on her trusty outrigger canoe."

From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2024

Some were accustomed to saunter about, or to have a game of romps.

From The History of Margaret Catchpole A Suffolk Girl by Richard Cobbold

Hannah Spencer took Gorton and Denton for the Greens while Burnham romped to victory in Makerfield for Labour.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 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

Mike Bird was the Conservative leader of Walsall Council until last Friday, when Reform UK romped to victory.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

Profits, after an initial hit, romped to new highs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

They meandered up the driveway and romped around with their dog until they noticed Roz.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

So it’s bizarre when “Wuthering Heights” cuts to them as adults and Robbie and Elordi, who have a combined real-life age of 63, are still platonically romping around like children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026

This is a Liverpool side no longer feared - one that has lost the aura they possessed while romping to the title last season.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 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 about thirty minutes of pure joy, romping in the grass and chasing butterflies, he heard Abby whistle for him.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• cavort
• frolic
• gambol
• prance