ramp

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈramp 

1

: a sloping way or plane: such as

a

: a sloping floor, walk, or roadway leading from one level to another

b

: a slope for launching boats

2

: apron sense 2h

ramp

2 of 5

verb (1)

ramped; ramping; ramps

intransitive verb

: to speed up, expand, or increase especially quickly or at a constant rate

—used with up

ramping up to full speed

The backlash is a sign of tensions that could intensify as the governor ramps up for reelection next year.

—Josh Burek

The raisin giant ramps up for Halloween by selling bags of 14 half-ounce raisin boxes.

—Bruce Horovitz

Furthermore, some of these heat processes must be "ramped up." That is, the heat must be gradually raised to the processing temperature …

—George Lawton

transitive verb

: to increase, expand, or decrease especially quickly or at a constant rate

—usually used with up or down

ramp up production

… James Bay and Tori Kelly, two best new artist nominees, traded their songs on acoustic guitars, ramping up the vibrato.

—Jon Pareles

see also ramp-up

ramp

3 of 5

noun (2)

: any of various alliums used for food

ramp

4 of 5

verb (2)

ramped; ramping; ramps

intransitive verb

1

a

: to stand or advance menacingly with forelegs or with arms raised

b

: to move or act furiously

2

: to creep up

—used especially of plants

ramp

5 of 5

noun (3)

plural ramps

old-fashioned + literary

: the act or an instance of ramping (see ramp entry 4)

It is the ramp of the lion by the side of the … snarl of the cur.

—Edmund Burke

(figurative) … the whirr / Of the crickets is lost in the roar / And the ramp of the southern gale …

—Hamlin Garland

Examples of ramp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Whole ramps are sliced thin from bulb to leaf tip and sautéed in olive oil before being cooked down with vinegar for bite and sugar for sweetness. —Hugh Acheson, Saveur, 3 May 2024

The white concrete approach ramp from Pacific Street over The Strand to the pier was built in 1927 and is badly weathered from the marine environment. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from French rampe, going back to Middle French, "inclined plane on which the steps of a staircase are built," noun derivative of ramper "to crawl, creep, move slowly along a surface," going back to Old French — more at ramp entry 4

Verb (1)

in part verbal derivative of ramp1, implying upward or downward movement on a ramp, in part derivative of ramp "artificial stimulation of a situation, market, etc., for financial or political gain," probably derivative of 19th-century British slang ramp "to rob, swindle," of uncertain origin

Noun (2)

back-formation from ramps, alteration (by intrusive p) of rams "the wild garlic Allium ursinum," going back to Middle English ramese, rampses, ramzys, going back to Old English hramsa, hramse (masculine or feminine weak noun), going back to Germanic *hramusan- or *hramusjōn- (whence also Old Saxon ramusia "wild garlic," Middle Low German ramese, remese, regional German Rams) going back to dialectal Indo-European *ḱrom-us-, ablaut variant of a noun seen also in Middle Irish crem, crim "wild garlic," Welsh craf, cra (< Celtic *kremo-, kramo-?), Russian čeremšá, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian srȉjemuš, srȉjemuša, also crȉjemuš, crȉjemuša, Lithuanian kermùšė, kermušė͂, beside šermùkšnis, šermùkšlė "mountain ash" (< *kerm-(o)us-i̯eh₂, *ḱerm-(o)us-i̯eh₂), Greek krómmyon, krémyon (Hesychius) "onion (Allium cepa) (< *ḱrom-us-o-/*ḱrem-us-o-)

Note: While Balto-Slavic has *ḱerm-, the other languages appear to have *ḱrVm- (or *ḱr̥m-?). The fluctuation between palatovelar and plain velar in Balto-Slavic has been explained as a result of an original *ḱrem-, with loss of palatal quality before r. The word is found only within European Indo-European, and regarded by some as a Wanderwort or borrowing from a substratal language.

Verb (2)

Middle English rampen, raumpen "to creep on the ground (of a snake or dragon), to spring up, rear up on the hind legs (of a lion or other large carnivore)," borrowed from Anglo-French ramper "to climb, rear up on the hind legs, creep" (also continental Old French), perhaps going back to a Germanic base *hramp- used in various expressive words, as Middle Dutch ramp "mishap, disaster," rampe "torticollis in birds," Middle Low German ramp "spasm, epilepsy, distress, disaster," Old English gehrumpen "wrinkled, coiled, contracted," Old High German rimpfan, preterit rampf "to shrivel, shrink"

Note: Though the Germanic origin of ramper is generally accepted (as by Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Trésor de la langue française), the semantic connections are tenuous. Hypothetically akin to this verb is a noun *hrampa- meaning "hook, claw," whence Italian rampa "claw, talon," alongside Spanish, Catalan rampa "cramp, spasm." Suggested Indo-European comparisons (Lithuanian kremblỹs "chantarelle," Greek krámbos "clear, dry [of a sound]") are even more tenuous.

Noun (3)

derivative of ramp entry 4

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1980, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1826, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (3)

1671, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ramp

• curb ramp
• off-ramp
• on-ramp
• ramp-up
• wheelchair ramp

Kids Definition

ramp

noun

ˈramp

: a sloping way or plane: as

a

: a sloping passage or roadway connecting different levels

b

: a slope for launching boats