ridge

[ rij ]

noun

1. a long, narrow elevation of land; a chain of hills or mountains.
2. the long and narrow upper edge, angle, or crest of something, as a hill, wave, or vault.
3. the back of an animal.
4. any raised, narrow strip, as on cloth.
5. the horizontal line in which the tops of the rafters of a roof meet.
6. (on a weather chart) a narrow, elongated area of high pressure.

verb (used with object)

, ridged, ridg·ing.

1. to provide with or form into a ridge or ridges.
2. to mark with or as if with ridges.

verb (used without object)

, ridged, ridg·ing.

1. to form ridges.

ridge

/ rɪdʒ /

noun

1. a long narrow raised land formation with sloping sides esp one formed by the meeting of two faces of a mountain or of a mountain buttress or spur
2. any long narrow raised strip or elevation, as on a fabric or in ploughed land
3. anatomy any elongated raised margin or border on a bone, tooth, tissue membrane, etc
4. 1. the top of a roof at the junction of two sloping sides
   2. ( as modifier )

      a ridge tile

5. the back or backbone of an animal, esp a whale
6. meteorol an elongated area of high pressure, esp an extension of an anticyclone Compare trough

verb

1. to form into a ridge or ridges

ridge

/ rĭj /

1. A long narrow chain of hills or mountains.
2. See mid-ocean ridge
3. A narrow, elongated zone of relatively high atmospheric pressure associated with an area of peak anticyclonic circulation.
4. Compare trough

Derived Forms

• ˈridgy, adjective
• ˈridgeˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• ridgelike adjective
• un·ridged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ridge¹

before 900; Middle English rigge (noun), Old English hrycg spine, crest, ridge; cognate with Dutch rug, German Rücken, Old Norse hryggr

Word History and Origins

Origin of ridge¹

Old English hrycg ; related to Old High German hrucki , Old Norse hryggr

Example Sentences

He completed the first ascent of the "Summer Bouquet" on Alexander Block Peak in Kyrgyzstan, and repeated a "legendary route" on the Cerro Torre's south-east ridge in South America, his website says.

From BBC

Along with olives, Chalice Farm also grows perennial vegetables, fruit and nuts on their sunshine-drenched land surrounded by creeks and forested ridge.

From Salon

A wall of flames over 300 feet tall by Smith’s estimate crested the ridge, roaring with the sound of a jet engine and blasting the resort with superheated wind and debris.

From Los Angeles Times

They waited as the cartel gunmen, who control this land, watched from the ridge above.

From Los Angeles Times

A cooling trend is forecast to begin Tuesday and continue through the rest of the week, as the unrelenting ridge of high pressure that has been positioned over the southwestern U.S. begins to shift eastward.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hill
• rim