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

• agitation
• deliriousness
• delirium
• distraction
• fever
• feverishness
• flap
• frenzy
• furor
• furore
• fury
• hysteria
• rage
• uproar

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

Don’t let the name fool you: Apple TV+’s new science-fiction series Murderbot isn’t actually about a rampaging robot killing everything in sight, though Alexander Skarsgard’s SecUnit certainly ponders the idea from time to time. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025

Using wet-behind-the-ears civilian young men to rampage through secure files and haul off personal confidential data is not good practice. —Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025

Noun

Authorities in North Carolina on April 28 were investigating a shooting rampage on the campus of Elizabeth City State University that left one person dead and six injured. —John Bacon, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2025

The change in position underscores the hardened perspective toward the agency under the Trump administration following allegations by Israel that some of the agency staff was involved in the Hamas rampage. —Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 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