rampage

1 of 2

verb

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj 

(ˌ)ram-ˈpāj

rampaged; rampaging

intransitive verb

: to rush wildly about

rampage

2 of 2

noun

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj 

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

rampageous

ram-ˈpā-jəs 

adjective

rampageously adverb

rampageousness noun

Synonyms

Noun

• frenzy
• rage

Examples of rampage in a Sentence

Verb

Rioters rampaged through the streets of the city.

Noun

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

Before its fury was exhausted, the mob rampaged through the Loop, breaking hundreds of windows and looting jewelry and department stores. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 27 July 2025

Last Week: | Upcoming: CHI (7/12), CHI (7/14), PHX (7/16) Minnesota is rampaging through the league, having lost only once since their defeat in the Commissioner's Cup Final. —Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025

Noun

That was a distraction from the perpetual confusion in that first year of Covid, which in itself was a distraction from much of Trump’s rampage through Washington. —Philip Elliott, Time, 11 Aug. 2025

Tamura then continued his rampage through the lobby, fatally shooting a woman attempting to hide behind a pillar and a security guard stationed at his desk. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 29 July 2025

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

noun derivative of rampage entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1692, in the meaning defined above

Noun

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