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

The off-and on ramps for Interstate 10 westbound at 40th street will be closed. —Abigail Celaya, The Arizona Republic, 19 Apr. 2024

Stevedores drove the tractors up a ramp into the belly of the Leo Spirit, a ship that would take them to Asia. —Peter Eavis, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024

On the west side of the city, the store is relatively close to Interstate 94 on and off ramps and less than a block away from the West Allis city limits. —David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024

Colerain officers will no longer routinely respond to calls for service for: Vacation checks. Solicitation, including door-to-door or panhandlers on exit ramps. —Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 16 Apr. 2024

Inspectors found a live adult German roach on a wall ramp behind a dish machine, and a dying roach on a storage container. —Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024

Jeweler Stacy Nolan Soper’s rental SUV was damaged during a robbery in October on a ramp connecting the 10 and 405 freeways. —Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024

Public areas that can be adapted to be ADA by adding a ramp include Casa Mayor, Freddy’s Bar, Bambuco, the beach, and the main pool area. —Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2024

This is Harris’ second visit to the city in two weeks as the Biden-Harris administration ramps up its re-election campaign in North Carolina. —Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Apr. 2024

Verb

That being said, there’s a lot to work with here and McCarthy’s intangibles, his championship mettle and ability to ramp up his focus late in games and on third downs, can’t be discounted. —Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024

As he's ramped up his presidential bid, members of his famous family have coalesced behind Democrat Joe Biden. —Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024

The appearance comes amid a busy time for Meghan, who is currently ramping up her PR efforts around the launch of her brand, American Riviera Orchard. —Harriet Johnston, Glamour, 18 Apr. 2024

Between January and March, the manufacturer delivered just 83 planes in its lowest quarterly deliveries since 2021, when production was still in the process of ramping up again following the pandemic. —Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024

This is particularly true in places such as the United States that lack a federal climate policy guiding how businesses ramp down their emissions. —Evan Halper, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024

That's why an alliance can work in your favor as the pressure ramps up. —Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024

However, the first baseman has played three games with the Frisco RoughRiders and seems to be ramping up for his return. —Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Apr. 2024

The Martindale Brightwood project will be the first neighborhood-wide replacement Citizens Energy is tackling with its Lead Service Line Replacement Program, which was launched in 2022 and is set to really ramp up this year. —Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Apr. 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