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ramp¹

(rămp)

1. An inclined surface or roadway connecting different levels.

2. A mobile staircase by which passengers board and leave an aircraft.

3. A concave bend of a handrail where a sharp change in level or direction occurs, as at a stair landing.

Phrasal Verbs:

ramp down

To decrease in volume, amount, or rate: As the project ramped down, several employees were laid off.

ramp up

To increase in volume, amount, or rate: The factory ramped up production to meet the increased demand.

[French rampe, from ramper, to slope, rise up, from Old French; see RAMP².]

ramp²

(rămp)

intr.v. ramped, ramp·ing, ramps

1. To rush around or act in a threatening or violent manner.

2. To assume a threatening stance, as in rearing up on hindlegs.

3. Heraldry To stand in the rampant position.

[Middle English rampen, from Old French ramper, to rear, rise up, of Germanic origin.]

ramp n.

ramp³

(rămp) also ramps (rămps)

A plant (Allium tricoccum) of the eastern United States having small bulbs and young leaves that are edible and have a pungent onionlike flavor. Also called wild leek.

[Variant of rams, from Middle English ramse, from Old English hramsa.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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