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.
a.
the top of a roof at the junction of two sloping sides
b.
(as modifier)
a ridge tile
5.
the back or backbone of an animal, esp a whale
6. meteorology
an elongated area of high pressure, esp an extension of an anticyclone
Compare trough (sense 4)
verb
7.
to form into a ridge or ridges
Derived forms
ridgelike (ˈridgeˌlike)
adjective
ridgy (ˈridgy)
adjective
Word origin
Old English hrycg; related to Old High German hrucki, Old Norse hryggr
ridge in American English
(rɪdʒ)
noun
1. Obsolete
an animal's spine or back
2.
the long, narrow top or crest of something, as of an animal's back, a wave, a mountain, etc.
3.
a long, narrow elevation of land or a similar range of hills or mountains
4.
any raised line or raised narrow strip, as in corded fabric, plowed land, etc.
5.
the horizontal line formed by the meeting of two sloping surfaces
the ridge of a roof
6.
a long, narrow high-pressure area on a weather map
verb transitive, verb intransitiveWord forms: ridged or ˈridging
7.
to mark or be marked with a ridge or ridges
8.
to form into or furnish with a ridge or ridges
Word origin
ME rigge < OE hrycg, akin to ON hrygr, backbone, Ger rücken, back < IE *(s)kreuk-, a hump, mound < base *(s)ker-, to bend > L curvus, bent, circus, a ring
Examples of 'ridge' in a sentence
ridge
The peaks and ridges of the mountains snake across its surface.
Marsden, Philip The Crossing-Place (1993)
The ridge forms a superb upper anchor point for the mighty sheets of the temporal muscles.
Wills, Christopher The Runaway Brain: the Evolution of Human Uniqueness (1993)
We rode across a high ridge where we paused to survey the country.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They were above us on the ridge line.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It may turn drier again as a ridge of high pressure spreads from the southwest.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Keep the same line over ridge and down to enter trees.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Their seat and stronghold stands on a green ridge overlooking a long lake set perfectly in its valley.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The endless pressure ridges that guarded the first half of the route proved to be the least of our worries.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It is a dizzy place, with views that stretch across layer upon layer of mountain ridges.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Score the pastry 1cm in from the edge to form a ridge.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The trail becomes more precipitous as we plod steadily across a long ridge that is barely discernible from the fog folding around us.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We walk back into town along a lane straddling a high, narrow ridge.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
From midweek a weak ridge of high pressure should bring some warmer, sunnier periods.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Use a spoon to press down, leaving a slightly higher ridge around the outside of the tin.
The Sun (2014)
I look upwards to see a narrow snow ridge running up to a snowy summit.
Eric Newby A BOOK OF LANDS AND PEOPLES (2003)
Then they held a crucial sector of the ridge overlooking Delhi for three months in the face of persistent attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Last Sunday we felt a nasty chill as cold air spilt down from the north thanks to a ridge of high pressure.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Over the fences I could see the cruel outlines of mountain ridges etched against a starry sky.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The weather picked up this weekend with a ridge of high pressure, although a front will bring cloud and rain in from the northwest today.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This natural limestone arch loops into the sea at the end of a chalk ridge and was formed by soft rock washing away, leaving harder stone behind.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Tuesday should also bring a ridge of high pressure, with calmer, colder conditions and sunshine after a frosty morning.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This year couldn't be more of a contrast, with the ridge of high pressure bringing just a slight breeze.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
By then the low had taken itself east to Scandinavia, allowing a ridge of high pressure to calm things down.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Word lists with
ridge
architectural features, Meteorological terms
In other languages
ridge
British English: ridge NOUN
A ridge is a long, narrow piece of raised land.
...a high road along a mountain ridge.
American English: ridge
Brazilian Portuguese: cume
Chinese: 脊
European Spanish: cadena
French: arête
German: Grat
Italian: cresta
Japanese: 山の背
Korean: 등성이
European Portuguese: cume
Latin American Spanish: cadena
All related terms of 'ridge'
Oak Ridge
city in E Tenn., near Knoxville: center for atomic research : pop. 27,000
beach ridge
a ridge just inland from a beach , consisting of sand and gravel built up by storm waves
ridge piece
a timber laid along the ridge of a roof , to which the upper ends of the rafters are attached
ridge tent
a tent in which the roof slopes down from a central ridgepole
ridge tile
any of the tiles used to cover the ridge of a roof
oceanic ridge
any section of the narrow, largely continuous range of submarine mountains that extends into all the major oceans and at which new oceanic lithosphere is created by the rise of magma from the earth's interior
pressure ridge
a ridge produced on floating ice by buckling or crushing under lateral pressure of wind or ice
Missionary Ridge
a ridge in NW Georgia and SE Tennessee : site of a battle (1863) during the Civil War: Northern victory leading to the campaign in Georgia
supraorbital ridge
browridge
mid-oceanic ridge
the continuous , double-ridged chain of mountains on the ocean floor , extending through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and into the Indian and Pacific oceans
browridge
the ridge of bone over the eye sockets
Blue Ridge Mountains
a mountain range in the eastern US, extending from West Virginia into Georgia : part of the Appalachian mountains. Highest peak : Mount Mitchell , 2037 m (6683 ft)
Chinese translation of 'ridge'
ridge
(rɪdʒ)
n(c)
隆起 (lóngqǐ) (个(個), gè)
[of hill]脊 (jǐ) (个(個), gè)
(noun)
Definition
a long narrow raised land formation with sloping sides
In some places the ridge is quite a gentle feature.