ridge

American  

[rij] / rɪdʒ /

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.

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verb (used with object)

ridged, ridging

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, ridging

1. to form ridges.

ridge British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to form into a ridge or ridges

ridge Scientific  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• ridgelike adjective
• ridgy adjective
• unridged adjective

Etymology

Origin of ridge

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

Example Sentences

She was a strong digger but had no finesse, so he assigned her the task of building up the low ridge that kept the garden soggy when it rained.

From Literature

These ridges form when chunks of sea ice are pushed toward the coast, piling up until they become thick enough to rest on the seafloor.

From Science Daily

Up and down, over numerous mountain ridges and along remote valleys.

From BBC

The hand that I shook was ridged and leathery from years of scrubbing floors.

From Literature

Perched high on mountain ridges, they seemed out of place, raising questions about where they came from and what they might reveal about Antarctica's past and future.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• hill
• rim