rampage

[ noun ram-peyj; verb ram-peyj, ram-peyj ]
See synonyms for rampage on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. violent or excited behavior that is reckless, uncontrolled, or destructive.

  2. a state of violent anger or agitation: The smallest mistake sends him into a rampage. The river has gone on a rampage and flooded the countryside.

verb (used without object),ram·paged, ram·pag·ing.
  1. to rush, move, or act furiously or violently: a bull elephant rampaging through the jungle.

Origin of rampage

1
First recorded in 1705–15; ramp1 + -age

Other words for rampage

Other words from rampage

  • ram·pag·er, noun

Words Nearby rampage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rampage in a sentence

  • These are the days when the cattle become discontented with their pasture and begin to go on a rampage.

  • Buckley ought to have killed that bull long ago—that's the second time he's gone on a rampage.

    The Boy Land Boomer | Ralph Bonehill
  • One night a bear got in there and made such an awful noise that we thought the Indians were on a rampage.

  • The next time she starts in on any such rampage, just pick her up and carry her out, as any naughty child should be carried.

    Peggy Stewart at School | Gabrielle E. Jackson
  • Out of the sun they had come like so many crazed hornets on the rampage.

British Dictionary definitions for rampage

rampage

verb(ræmˈpeɪdʒ)
  1. (intr) to rush about in an angry, violent, or agitated fashion

noun(ˈræmpeɪdʒ, ræmˈpeɪdʒ)
  1. angry or destructive behaviour

  2. on the rampage behaving violently or destructively

Origin of rampage

1
C18: from Scottish, of uncertain origin; perhaps based on ramp

Derived forms of rampage

  • rampageous, adjective
  • rampageously, adverb
  • rampageousness, noun
  • rampager, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with rampage

rampage

see on a rampage.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.