ramp

Pronunciation: /ramp/

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Definition of ramp

noun

1a sloping surface joining two different levels, as at the entrance or between floors of a building:a wheelchair ramp
a movable set of steps for entering or leaving an aircraft.
British a transverse ridge in a road to control the speed of vehicles.
North American an inclined slip road leading on to or off a main road or motorway:an exit ramp
North American term for catwalk (sense 1).

2an upward bend in a stair rail.

3an electrical waveform in which the voltage increases or decreases linearly with time: a voltage ramp

4British informal a swindle, especially one involving a fraudulent increase of the price of a share: the Stock Exchange is investigating two blatant share ramps

verb

1 [with object] (often ramp something up) increase the level or amount of (something) sharply:the company has moved into new quarters in order to ramp up production [no object]:the level of violence is ramping up
British drive up the price of (a company’s shares) in order to gain a financial advantage: (as noun ramping)a rule against share price ramping which forbids a broker to account for more than 30 per cent of trading in a share

2 [no object] archaic (of an animal) rear up on its hind legs in a threatening posture: they roared and ramped in cages (as adjective ramping)a ramping lion
[with adverbial of direction] rush about uncontrollably: an awful beast ramping about the woods and fields
[with adverbial of direction] (of a plant) grow or climb luxuriantly:ivy ramped over the flower beds

3 [no object] (of an electrical waveform) increase or decrease voltage linearly with time: the integrated circuit’s output then ramps in the negative direction

4 [with object] provide with a ramp: (as adjective ramped)ramped access to public buildings

Origin:

Middle English (as a verb in the sense 'rear up', also used as a heraldic term): from Old French ramper 'creep, crawl', of unknown origin. Sense 1 of the noun dates from the late 18th century

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Definition of ramp in the US English dictionary

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ramp

noun

verb

Origin:

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