# ramp

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɹæmp/ · frequency rank #9,237

## Definitions
1. An inclined surface that connects two levels; an incline.
2. An interchange, a road that connects a freeway to a surface street or another freeway.
3. A structure with an inclined surface made for stunts, as for jumping motorcycles or other vehicles.
4. A mobile staircase that is attached to the doors of an aircraft at an airport.
5. A way of hitting a boundary by facing the bat face front and pushing with force to launch the ball. 100% of it done against pace.
6. A large parking area in an airport for aircraft, for loading and unloading or for storage (see also apron and tarmac).
7. A surface inside the air intake of a supersonic aircraft which adjusts in position to allow for efficient shock wave compression of incoming air at a wide range of different Mach numbers.
8. A construction used to do skating tricks, usually in the form of part of a pipe.
9. A scale of values.
10. A speed bump.
11. An act of violent robbery.
12. A deliberate swindle or fraud.
13. A search, conducted by authorities, of a prisoner or a prisoner's cell.
14. A leap or bound.
15. A concave bend at the top or cap of a railing, wall, or coping; a romp.

## Etymology
From French rampe, from Middle French rampe, deverbal of ramper, from Old French ramper (“to crawl, climb, scale up”), from Frankish *hrampōn (“to contract oneself, wrinkle, rumple, crumple, curve”), from Proto-Germanic *hrimpaną (“to shrivel, shrink”). Cognate with German Rampf (“retraction, curvature, shrinkage, spasm”). Doublet of romp.
Akin also to Old English ġehrimpan (“to wrinkle, rimple, rumple”), Old High German rimpfan (German rümpfen (“to wrinkle up”)). Compare Danish rimpe (“to fold" (archaic), "to baste”), Icelandic rimpa. More at rimple.

## Easily confused with
- **RM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rm)
- **RP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rp)
- **ran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-ran)
- **ray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-ray)
- **raw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-raw)
- **rep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rep)
- **rip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rip)
- **rat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rat)
- **rap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rap)
- **rim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rim)
- **ROM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rom)
- **rum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rum)
- **rpm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rpm)
- **Rao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rao)
- **REM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rem)
- **ras** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-ras)
- **RMB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rmb)
- **rav** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rav)
- **RFP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rfp)
- **RMA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ramp-vs-rma)

## Common misspellings (6)
`armp`, `rammp`, `rampp`, `rapm`, `rmap`, `rramp`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ramp