rampage

1 of 3

verb

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj 

(ˌ)ram-ˈpāj

rampaged; rampaging

intransitive verb

: to rush wildly about

rampage

2 of 3

noun (1)

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj 

: a course of violent, riotous, or reckless action or behavior

rampageous

ram-ˈpā-jəs 

adjective

rampageously adverb

rampageousness noun

rampageousness

3 of 3

noun (2)

ram·​pa·​geous·​ness

(ˈ)ram-¦pā-jəs-nəs

plural -es

: the quality or state of being rampageous

his rampageousness on finding himself in a frontier township after months of hard and dangerous work

—Times Literary Supplement

Synonyms of rampage

Noun (1)

• frenzy
• rage

Examples of rampage in a Sentence

Verb

Rioters rampaged through the streets of the city.

Noun (1)

some crazy guy went on a rampage in the public library and started grabbing books off the shelves and tossing them around

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

But the porcine population has ballooned and now everyone’s up to their eyes in rampaging, marauding boars. —Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 June 2026

Tthere’s fiddle and harmonica in the mix and the percussion covers everything from a rattling train car sound to a rampaging elephant. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 4 June 2026

Noun

In retrospect, the Greenland crisis carried the early rumblings of a new American rampage through international affairs, a campaign of imperial displays across three continents that culminated with the war in Iran. —Joshua Hunt, Vanity Fair, 17 June 2026

Directed by action veteran Kenji Tanigaki and produced by Bill Kong, the martial arts showcase stars Xie Miao as Wang Wei, an ordinary man who unleashes a relentless rampage against a powerful child trafficking syndicate after his daughter is kidnapped. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

originally Scots, probably an extension of ramp "to rage, storm about" (going back to early Scots and Middle English, "to rear up on the hind legs"), with a termination of uncertain origin — more at ramp entry 4

Note: The Scottish National Dictionary regards rampage as a blend of ramp "to rage, storm about" and rage (see rage entry 2); the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, on the other hand, hypothesizes "perhaps ramp [the verb] + -age [the suffix -age]. As the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, points out, the original place of stress (and concomitantly the pronunciation) are unknown.

Noun (1)

noun derivative of rampage entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1692, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1861, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rampage

• assuage
• backstage
• bocage
• downstage
• engage
• enrage
• leafage
• messuage
• offstage
• onstage
• outrage
• pelage

Kids Definition

rampage

1 of 2 verb

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj 

(ˈ)ram-ˈpāj

rampaged; rampaging

: to rush wildly about

rampage

2 of 2 noun

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj 

: a course of violent or reckless action or behavior

rampageous

ram-ˈpā-jəs 

adjective

rampageously adverb