ramp up

present singular third person ramps up · participle present ramping up · participle past ramped up · past ramped up

1. intransitiveTo increase rapidly to a new value.

   Near-synonym: build up

   1 more example

   Headcount ramped up over three months.

   Synonyms: build up

2. transitiveTo increase (something) rapidly to a new value; to cause (something) to ramp up.

   Near-synonym: build up

   5 more examples

   The manager ramped up headcount.

   Overnight, as the storm bore down on urban flood zones, city officials ramped up emergency spaces to shelter thousands more people, mostly in public schools and colleges.

   2012 November 20, Nina Bernstein, “Storm Bared a Lack of Options for the Homeless in New York”, in The New York Times

   For entirely self-serving reasons, ministers and civil servants never dispelled the public belief that uncaring 'fat cat' privateers or foreign state railways were in control, ramping up fares and creaming off profits which either enriched shareholders or subsidised European rail fares. DfT left train operators to 'take the heat' - which they dutifully did, fearful of speaking up and 'biting the hand that feeds'.

   2020 September 23, Nigel Harris, “Comment: We MUST seize the moment”, in Rail, page 3

   Liberal activists promised a well-funded summertime blitz, replete with home-state rallies and million-dollar ad campaigns, to try to ramp up pressure on a handful of Senate Democrats opposed to changing the rules.

   2021 June 22, Nicholas Fandos, “Republicans Block Voting Rights Bill, Dealing Blow to Biden and Democrats”, in The New York Times

   In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it.

   2023 March 13, Eric Cheung, Nectar Gan, “Taiwan says soldier who went missing has been found in China”, in CNN, archived from the original on 13 Mar 2023

   Synonyms: build up

3. intransitiveTo start up; to be in an initial phase of rapid increase.

   Near-synonyms: fire up, spin up

   3 more examples

   The 5G development project will ramp up in the first quarter.

   It's only fair to note that during the toddler years, the nightmare phase is just ramping up for many children.

   2004, Jana Murphy, The Secret Lives of Toddlers, Perigee, →ISBN, page 118

   For projects that are just ramping up, a reasonable estimate should be made for the foreseeable future.

   2007, John A. Cogliandro, Intelligent Innovation: Four Steps to Achieving a Competitive Edge, J. Ross Publishing, published 2007, →ISBN, page 71

   Synonyms: fire up, spin up

4. transitivemanagementTo start (something) up; to cause (something) to ramp up.

   Near-synonyms: fire up, spin up

   1 more example

   He wants to be first to ramp up his project.

   Synonyms: fire up, spin up