RAMP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ramp mean? 

• RAMP (noun)
  The noun RAMP has 3 senses:

1. an inclined surface connecting two levels

2. North American perennial having a slender bulb and whitish flowers

3. a movable staircase that passengers use to board or leave an aircraft

  Familiarity information: RAMP used as a noun is uncommon.

• RAMP (verb)
  The verb RAMP has 5 senses:

1. behave violently, as if in state of a great anger

2. furnish with a ramp

3. be rampant

4. creep up -- used especially of plants

5. stand with arms or forelegs raised, as if menacing

  Familiarity information: RAMP used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RAMP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An inclined surface connecting two levels

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

incline; ramp

Hypernyms ("ramp" is a kind of...):

inclined plane (a simple machine for elevating objects; consists of plane surface that makes an acute angle with the horizontal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ramp"):

ski jump (a steep downward ramp from which skiers jump)

Derivation:

ramp (furnish with a ramp)

Sense 2

Meaning:

North American perennial having a slender bulb and whitish flowers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Allium tricoccum; ramp; wild leek

Hypernyms ("ramp" is a kind of...):

alliaceous plant (bulbous plants having a characteristic pungent onion odor)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A movable staircase that passengers use to board or leave an aircraft

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("ramp" is a kind of...):

staircase; stairway (a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps)

Derivation:

ramp (furnish with a ramp)

• RAMP (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ramp    ... he / she / it ramps   
Past simple: ramped   
Past participle: ramped   
-ing form: ramping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Behave violently, as if in state of a great anger

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

rage; ramp; storm

Hypernyms (to "ramp" is one way to...):

act; behave; do (behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

rampage (violently angry and destructive behavior)

rampant (unrestrained and violent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Furnish with a ramp

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

The ramped auditorium

Hypernyms (to "ramp" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Domain category:

architecture (the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their esthetic effect)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

ramp (an inclined surface connecting two levels)

ramp (a movable staircase that passengers use to board or leave an aircraft)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be rampant

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

the lion is rampant in this heraldic depiction

Hypernyms (to "ramp" is one way to...):

model; pose; posture; sit (assume a posture as for artistic purposes)

Domain category:

heraldry (the study and classification of armorial bearings and the tracing of genealogies)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

rampant (rearing on left hind leg with forelegs elevated and head usually in profile)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Creep up -- used especially of plants

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The roses ramped over the wall

Hypernyms (to "ramp" is one way to...):

climb; climb up; go up; mount (go upward with gradual or continuous progress)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Stand with arms or forelegs raised, as if menacing

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "ramp" is one way to...):

stand; stand up (be standing; be upright)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

 Context examples 

As the atmosphere thickens, the thrusters will be forced to ramp up their activity, going from 10 percent of their capacity to 100 percent in the span of about a minute.

(Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn, NASA)

But when the team checked the activity of the microglial cells across the four groups, they found that it had also ramped up in the chronically sleep-deprived group.

(Lack of Sleep Makes Brain to Literally Eat Itself, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

In a week or less, from what I see, John Bull will be on his hind legs and fair ramping.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The rover drove off its lander’s ramp and onto the lunar surface late Thursday, about 12 hours after the Chang’e-4 spacecraft made the first-ever landing on the moon’s far side.

(Chinese Rover Making Tracks on Dark Side of the Moon, VOA)

Again as we ramp up the power to bigger and bigger lasers then, yes, you can actually start moving it enough to what we call de-orbit the satellite by reducing its velocity enough that it starts to change orbit height and eventually hits the atmosphere and the atmosphere takes over and drags it, Smith said.

(Australia Developing Lasers to Track, Destroy Space Junk, VOA)

Sir Lothian’s hollow cheeks grew white with passion, and I saw for an instant in his deep-set eyes such a glare as comes from the frenzied hound rearing and ramping at the end of its chain.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When I got back to the nursery there was such an uproar in the parlor that I looked in, and there was Mr. Bhaer down on his hands and knees, with Tina on his back, Kitty leading him with a jump rope, and Minnie feeding two small boys with seedcakes, as they roared and ramped in cages built of chairs.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Hard face, battered head piece, dinted brigandine, with faded red lion of St. George ramping on a discolored ground, all proclaimed as plainly as words that he was indeed from the land of war.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)