ramp
ramp — noun
1. A built sloping surface that connects two areas at different heights, allowing p
A built sloping surface that connects two areas at different heights, allowing people or things to move between levels without using steps.
Trang pushed the wheelchair up the ramp and into the clinic.
collocation: wheelchair ramp
The delivery driver rolled the heavy box down the loading ramp into the warehouse.
collocation: loading ramp
A portable ramp helped the children load their bicycles onto the back of the van.
The school installed a concrete ramp so wheelchair users could enter the building easily.
passive: installed + ramp for accessibility
- wheelchair ramp
- loading ramp
- portable ramp
- temporary ramp
- concrete ramp
- wooden ramp
- access ramp
- steep ramp
- gentle ramp
- stairs
steps instead of a continuous sloping surface
Common Mistakes
2. A raised strip across a street that forces drivers to reduce their speed for the
A raised strip across a street that forces drivers to reduce their speed for the safety of people nearby.
Takeshi slowed the car when he saw the ramp ahead on the street near school.
A speed ramp in the parking lot forced drivers to move at walking pace.
collocation: speed ramp
Tuan felt the car bounce as it drove over the ramp outside the hospital.
The neighbourhood council added ramps to discourage speeding on the narrow street.
collocation: add + ramp for traffic calming
- speed ramp
- traffic ramp
- speed bump
- raised ramp
- slow down at a ramp
- go over a ramp
- speed bump
standard American English term
- speed hump
wider and lower than a speed bump
- sleeping policeman
informal British term
Usage Note
More common in British English than American English; American speakers typically use 'speed bump' or 'speed hump' instead of 'ramp' for this sense.
Common Mistakes
3. A short connecting road that drivers use to enter or leave a highway or motorway
A short connecting road that drivers use to enter or leave a highway or motorway.
Bilal took the wrong ramp and ended up driving south instead of north.
The off-ramp was closed for repairs, so drivers had to use the next exit.
compound noun: off-ramp
Shanti merged onto the motorway using the acceleration ramp.
collocation: acceleration ramp
A large sign before the ramp tells you which direction the road leads.
- on-ramp
- off-ramp
- highway ramp
- exit ramp
- entrance ramp
- acceleration ramp
- merge onto a ramp
- take the wrong ramp
Usage Note
Commonly combined with 'on-' or 'off-' to form compounds: 'on-ramp' (entrance) and 'off-ramp' (exit). British English prefers 'slip road'.
Common Mistakes
4. A wild onion species that grows in the forests of eastern North America, with wi
A wild onion species that grows in the forests of eastern North America, with wide green leaves and a pungent flavour similar to a mix of onion and garlic. The plant is picked in early spring and used in cooking.
Romi picked wild ramps in the forest and added them to her salad.
Wild ramps have a flavour that is somewhere between onion and garlic.
Farmers in the Appalachian mountains gather ramps every spring for local markets.
collocation: gather ramps
Eshe cooked the ramps slowly in butter until the leaves turned soft and sweet.
- wild ramp
- gather ramps
- ramp season
- ramp festival
- forage for ramps
- cook ramps
- ramp leaves
- wild leek
another common name
- spring onion
similar but not the same; ramps have a stronger, more garlic-like taste
- Allium tricoccum
scientific name
Usage Note
Also called 'wild leek' or 'spring onion'. The plant is a seasonal delicacy in parts of eastern North America and is often foraged rather than farmed. Not to be confused with common supermarket spring onions.
Common Mistakes
ramp — verb
1. To increase quickly or steadily in amount, level, speed, or rate; to make someth
To increase quickly or steadily in amount, level, speed, or rate; to make something grow or accelerate.
The factory ramped up production to meet the holiday demand for toys.
transitive: ramp up + production
Sales ramped up quickly after the new smartphone was launched online.
intransitive: ramp up — increase quickly
Justin ramped up his training schedule to four hours a day before the race.
ramp up + [something] to [amount]
The hospital ramped up testing capacity when the outbreak hit the city.
transitive: ramp up + capacity
- ramp up production
- ramp up efforts
- ramp up capacity
- ramp up spending
- ramp up training
- ramp up quickly
- ramp up slowly
- ramp up steadily
- decrease
general opposite
- scale down
opposite action in business contexts
- wind down
gradual reduction
Grammar Patterns
ramp up + noun
ramp + up
ramp up + to + amount
Usage Note
Most commonly used with 'up' as a phrasal verb: 'ramp up'. Can be used transitively ('they ramped up production') or intransitively ('production ramped up'). Very frequent in business, manufacturing, and technology contexts.
Common Mistakes
2. To rise up on the back legs with the front legs or arms lifted, used especially
To rise up on the back legs with the front legs or arms lifted, used especially for animals showing threat or aggression.
The lion ramped on its hind legs, letting out a deep roar.
ramp + on + body part: on its hind legs
The horse suddenly ramped, throwing the rider off its back.
intransitive: ramp — rise on hind legs
In the old tapestry, two large bears ramp at each other outside a cave.
The stallion ramped forward on its hind legs, startling the stable hands below.
ramp + forward — movement direction
- ramp on hind legs
- ramp forward
- ramp at someone
- ramp up (of an animal)
- lie down
opposite posture
Grammar Patterns
ramp + adverb phrase
Usage Note
This sense is now largely literary or heraldic. In modern everyday English, 'rear up' or 'rearing' is far more common than 'ramp' for describing animals rising on hind legs.
Common Mistakes
3. To behave in a wild, angry, or violent way, often moving around without control.
To behave in a wild, angry, or violent way, often moving around without control.
The angry crowd ramped through the streets, breaking windows and overturning cars.
ramp + through [location] — violent movement
In the legend, a dragon ramped through the valley, burning every village it passed.
literary register: dragon + ramp for mythical rage
The wounded knight ramped through the castle gates, his sword swinging wildly.
ramp + through — historical/literary context
A warrior ramped across the battlefield, howling with rage and swinging his axe.
ramp + across — battlefield scene
- ramp through
- ramp at
- ramp against
- ramp across
Grammar Patterns
ramp + adverb/preposition phrase
Usage Note
Strongly literary; in modern English, 'rampage' (verb) or 'go on a rampage' is far more common than 'ramp' for violent behaviour. This sense is also related to the adjective 'rampant' (e.g. 'a rampant lion' or 'rampant inflation').
Common Mistakes
4. To grow slowly upward over a surface by creeping or climbing, used especially of
To grow slowly upward over a surface by creeping or climbing, used especially of vines and climbing plants.
The ivy ramped slowly up the stone wall at the back of the old house.
ramp + up + surface
Morning glories ramped over the wooden fence and covered it with purple flowers.
ramp + over — covering a surface
The climbing roses had ramped across the entire side of the garden shed by August.
Justin watched the green bean vines creep up the bamboo poles in his backyard.
- ramp up
- ramp over
- ramp across
- ramp along
Grammar Patterns
ramp + up/over/across + surface
Usage Note
Nearly obsolete in modern English for this meaning. 'Creep', 'climb', or 'trail' are far more common for describing plant growth. This sense survives mainly in botanical or literary descriptions.
ramp up
phrasal verbTo increase the level, amount, rate, or speed of something, or to grow in these ways.
The tech company ramped up its workforce from two hundred to five hundred employees in one year.
Competition in the electric car market has ramped up significantly over the past few months.
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All four words describe a surface that is not level, but they differ in use and scope. 'Ramp' always refers to a man-made structure designed for moving between two heights — typically for wheelchairs, loading goods, or boarding vehicles. 'Slope' is the most general term and can describe natural terrain (a ski slope) or any angled surface. 'Incline' is slightly more formal than 'slope' and often appears in technical or fitness contexts (a treadmill incline). 'Gradient' is the most technical of the four, referring specifically to the steepness measurement of a slope — engineers talk about a '1:12 gradient,' but ordinary speakers rarely use the word. For everyday use: if it is built for access, call it a ramp. If the land naturally angles, call it a slope.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'ramp' comes from Old French 'ramper', meaning 'to creep, climb, or crawl', which in turn came from a Frankish (Germanic) root meaning 'to creep up'. In medieval heraldry, a lion 'rampant' was shown standing on its hind legs with front paws raised — which is why the verb developed the meaning of an animal rearing up aggressively. The noun sense of a sloping walkway emerged in the 1700s. The plant sense is unrelated; it comes from an older Germanic word for a type of wild onion.