rampage

1 of 2

verb

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj How to pronounce rampage (audio)
(ˌ)ram-ˈpāj
rampaged; rampaging

intransitive verb

: to rush wildly about

rampage

2 of 2

noun

ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj How to pronounce rampage (audio)
: a course of violent, riotous, or reckless action or behavior
rampageous adjective
rampageously adverb
rampageousness noun

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
The conflict in Gaza has raged since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists rampaged across southern Israel, massacring civilians in an attack that left more than 1,400 people dead and thousands more wounded as Hamas took more than 200 hostages into Gaza. Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2023 It's been just over a month since Hamas terrorists rampaged through the kibbutz of Kfar Aza. Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 15 Nov. 2023 Israel launched a ground invasion after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters rampaged through southern Israel on Oct. 7, indiscriminately killing women, children, babies and the elderly. Adam Goldman, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023 The conflict began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants rampaged through southern Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 230 others hostage, including at least a dozen children. Hajar Harb, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023 As Hamas fighters rampaged through Israeli villages outside Gaza on the morning of October 7th, killing roughly fourteen hundred people, some paused to take videos of themselves with Jewish children at Kibbutz Holit. David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023 The terror group launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, rampaging through communities in southern Israel and killing as many as 1,300 Israelis in the worst attack in the country's history. Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 14 Oct. 2023 In May, a high school student armed with ammunition from the plant rampaged through a residential neighborhood in Farmington, N.M., killing three and injuring six. Ben Dooley Emily Rhyne, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023 The terrorists rampaged for hours through dozens of communities, shattering Israelis’ sense of security across the country. Assaf Orion, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2023
Noun
The violent arrest took place on Sept. 12, 2020, hours after a gunman on a days-long rampage shot two sheriff’s deputies sitting in their cruiser near the Compton Metro station. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023 Five people died on that day or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted. Inside the siege: During the rampage, rioters came perilously close to penetrating the inner sanctums of the building while lawmakers were still there, including former vice president Mike Pence. Tom Jackman, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023 Journal Editorial Report: Philadelphia succumbs to a rampage of looting. Joshua Crawford, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023 Innocent by cheering Hamas ghastly brutality? ...vengeful rampage... Miles Smith Iv, National Review, 5 Nov. 2023 After Hamas’s deadly rampage on October 7, Israel was quick to compare the group to the Islamic State. Cole Bunzel, Foreign Affairs, 2 Nov. 2023 Card was also suspected of wounding 13 people in the shooting rampage Wednesday night in Lewiston. CBS News, 30 Oct. 2023 The escalation ratcheted up domestic pressure on Israel's government to secure the release of dozens of hostages seized in the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas, when militants stormed from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns and gunned down civilians and soldiers. Isabel Debre, Julia Frankel and Samy Magdy The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2023 End of carousel Although the group and its leaders have faced U.S. sanctions since 1995, Treasury has announced new sanctions against a range of senior Hamas leadership officials, trying to undermine the financial flows that fueled its rampage in Israel. Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rampage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of rampage was in 1692

Dictionary Entries Near rampage

Cite this Entry

“Rampage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rampage. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

rampage

1 of 2 verb
ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj How to pronounce rampage (audio)
(ˈ)ram-ˈpāj
rampaged; rampaging
: to rush wildly about

rampage

2 of 2 noun
ram·​page ˈram-ˌpāj How to pronounce rampage (audio)
: a course of violent or reckless action or behavior
rampageous adjective
rampageously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on rampage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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