<B>ramentum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ta,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) a thin, membranous scale formed on the leaves or shoots of some ferns. </DL>
<A NAME="ramet">
<B>ramet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Horticulture.) one of the plants in a clone. </DL>
<A NAME="ramhead">
<B>ramhead, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>part of the arm of a crane. <DD><B> 2. </B>a block to guide the halyards of a ship. </DL>
<A NAME="rami">
<B>rami, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>ramus.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ramie">
<B>ramie, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a perennial Asian shrub of the same family as the nettle, that yields a strong, lustrous fiber; China grass. <DD><B> 2. </B>this fiber, used to make fabrics, surgical dressings, and the like. Ramie's strength increases when it is wet, so it is suitable for ropes, canvas, nets, and life rafts. </DL>
<A NAME="ramification">
<B>ramification, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a dividing or spreading out into branches or parts. <DD><B> 2. </B>the manner or result of branching; offshoot; branch; part; subdivision; consequence. </DL>
<B>ramify, </B>verb, <B>-fied,</B> <B>-fying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> to divide or spread out into parts resembling branches. <BR> <I>Ex. Quartz veins ramify through the rock in all directions (F. Kingdon-Ward).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to cause to branch out. </DL>
<A NAME="ramjet">
<B>ramjet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a type of jet engine in which the fuel is fed into air compressed by the speed of the airplane, guided missile, etc., that contains it. A ramjet must reach a speed of at least 300 miles an hour to operate efficiently. </DL>
<A NAME="rammer">
<B>rammer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that rams. </DL>
<A NAME="rammish">
<B>rammish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>like a ram; rank in smell or taste. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=lustful.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ramose">
<B>ramose, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having many branches; branching. adv. <B>ramosely.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ramous">
<B>ramous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=ramose.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or like a branch. </DL>
<A NAME="ramp">
<B>ramp</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a sloping way connecting two different levels, especially of a building or road; slope. <BR> <I>Ex. The passengers walked up the ramp to board the airplane.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ramp">
<B>ramp</B> (2), verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to rush wildly about; behave violently. <BR> <I>Ex. It is one thing to hear a lion in captivity ... quite another ... when he is ramping around ... one's fragile tent (J. H. Patterson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to jump or rush with fury. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Heraldry.) to stand on the hind legs; raise the forepaws in the air (said especially of lions in coats of arms). <DD><B> 4. </B>to take a threatening posture. <DD><I>noun </I> an act of ramping. </DL>
<A NAME="ramp">
<B>ramp</B> (3), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a kind of wild onion of eastern North America, related to the ramson, and having a strongly-flavored edible root; wild leek. <BR> <I>Ex. Mountain folk traditionally gather ramps for festive occasions [in late April] (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=ramson.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="rampage">
<B>rampage, </B>noun, verb, <B>-paged,</B> <B>-paging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a fit of rushing wildly about; spell of violent behavior; wild outbreak. <BR> <I>Ex. The mad elephant went on a rampage and killed its keeper.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to rush wildly about; behave violently; rage. <BR> <I>Ex. He could not lie still, but ... raged and rampaged up and down his ... bedroom (George Du Maurier).</I> </DL>
<B>rampancy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the fact or condition of being rampant. </DL>
<A NAME="rampant">
<B>rampant, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>growing without any check. <BR> <I>Ex. The vines ran rampant over the fence.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>passing beyond restraint or usual limits; unchecked. <BR> <I>Ex. Anarchy was rampant after the dictator died.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>angry; excited; violent. (SYN) furious, raging. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Heraldry.) standing up on the hind legs. <DD><B> 5. </B>(of animals) rearing. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Architecture.) (of an arch or vault) having different levels of support for the two sides. adv. <B>rampantly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="rampart">
<B>rampart, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a wide bank of earth, often with a wall on top, built around a fort to help defend it. <BR> <I>Ex. O'er the ramparts we watched (Francis Scott Key).</I> (SYN) embankment. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. to strengthen the ramparts of freedom.</I> (SYN) defense, protection, bastion, bulwark. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to fortify or surround with, or as if with, a rampart. <BR> <I>Ex. Against our ramparted gates (Shakespeare).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="rampike">
<B>rampike, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a decaying or dead tree. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Canadian.) the bleached or blackened trunk of a dead tree, especially one killed by fire. </DL>
<A NAME="rampion">
<B>rampion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a European bellflower, whose white, tuberous roots are sometimes used for salad. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of a group of blue-flowered plants of the bellflower family, native to Europe and parts of Asia. </DL>
<A NAME="ramrod">
<B>ramrod, </B>noun, adjective, verb, <B>-rodded,</B> <B>-rodding.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a rod for ramming down the charge in a gun that is loaded from the muzzle. <DD><B> 2. </B>a rod for cleaning the barrel of a gun. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a stiff, unbending person. <DD><I>adj. </I> stiff; rigid; unbending. <BR> <I>Ex. He ... walked ten times with ramrod dignity from the wings and bowed misty-eyed to the packed hall (Time).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> (Informal.) to push forward vigorously; ram (through). <BR> <I>Ex. to ramrod a bill through Congress.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ramshackle">
<B>ramshackle, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>loose and shaky; likely to come apart. <BR> <I>Ex. The buildings on this farm are old and ramshackle.</I> (SYN) rickety, dilapidated. <DD><B> 2. </B>weak; feeble. <BR> <I>Ex. ... the whole ramshackle structure of federal taxes (Theodore H. White).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>decadent. <BR> <I>Ex. He had also become an expert on the ramshackle politics of the Turkish empire (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ramshorn">
<B>ram's horn,</B> <B>=shofar.</B></DL>
<A NAME="ramshornsnail">
<B>ram's-horn snail,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a freshwater snail with a flat coiled shell, commonly found in aquariums. </DL>
<A NAME="ramson">
<B>ramson, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of garlic with broad leaves. <BR><I>expr. <B>ramsons,</B> </I>the bulbous root of this plant, used as a relish. <BR> <I>Ex. There were dishes of pickles, olives, and ramsons on the cocktail table.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ramstam">
<B>ramstam, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) <DD><I>adj. </I> impetuous; reckless. <DD><I>adv. </I> in a rush; precipitately. </DL>
<A NAME="ramtil">
<B>ramtil, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a composite African plant cultivated in India and parts of Africa for the oil produced from its seeds. </DL>
<A NAME="ramulose">
<B>ramulose, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having many small branches. </DL>
<B>ramus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a branch, as of a plant or a bone. </DL>
<A NAME="ran">
<B>ran, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> the past tense of <B>run.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. The dog ran after the cat.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ran">
<B>Ran, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Norse Mythology.) a sea goddess who caught drowning men in her net. </DL>
<A NAME="ran">
<B>R.A.N.</B> or <B>RAN</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> Royal Australian Navy. </DL>
<A NAME="rance">
<B>rance, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a red Belgian marble with blue and white veins. </DL>
<A NAME="ranch">
<B>ranch, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a very large farm and its buildings. Many ranches are for raising cattle, sheep, or horses. <DD><B> 2. </B>any farm, especially one used to raise one kind of animal or crop. <BR> <I>Ex. a chicken ranch, a fruit ranch.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the persons working or living on a ranch. <BR> <I>Ex. The entire ranch was at the party.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B><B>=ranch house </B>(def. 2). <DD><I>v.i. </I> to work on a ranch or manage a ranch. </DL>
<A NAME="rancher">
<B>rancher, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who owns, manages, or works on a ranch. </DL>
<A NAME="ranchera">
<B>ranchera, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a traditional form of Mexican country music. <BR> <I>Ex. Ranchera remains a major influence in today's Mexican pop, and its melodramatic style is a perfect foil for rock and roll (Daisann McLane).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="rancheria">
<B>rancheria, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in Spanish America and southwestern U.S.) a group of ranchos or rude huts for Indians or rancheros. </DL>
<A NAME="ranchero">
<B>ranchero, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ros.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> in Spanish America: <DD><B> 1. </B>a rancher. <DD><B> 2. </B>a herdsman on a ranch. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>= ranchera.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ranchhouse">
<B>ranch house,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the main house on a ranch, in which the owner or manager and his family live. <DD><B> 2. </B>a one-story dwelling, like most houses on a ranch, having a low roof. </DL>
<A NAME="ranchman">
<B>ranchman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B> <B>=rancher.</B></DL>
<A NAME="rancho">
<B>rancho, </B>noun, pl. <B>-chos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> in Spanish America: <DD><B> 1. </B>a ranch. <DD><B> 2. </B>a rude hut or group of huts for herdsmen or laborers. <BR> <I>Ex. I put up for the night at the solitary mud rancho of an old herdsman (W. H. Hudson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="rancid">
<B>rancid, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>stale; spoiled. <BR> <I>Ex. rancid butter.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>tasting or smelling like stale fat or butter. <BR> <I>Ex. a rancid odor.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) nasty; disagreeable; odious. <BR> <I>Ex. He's a rancid fellow (Robert Louis Stevenson).</I> adv. <B>rancidly.</B> noun <B>rancidness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="rancidity">
<B>rancidity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> rancid quality or condition. </DL>
