ENGLISH
REFERENCE

ridge

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈɹɪdʒ// UK //ɹˈɪdʒ// ridge

n. a long, narrow raised part on a surface. You can find them on parts of your body, like the top of your nose or the edges of your teeth.

n. a long, narrow elevation or raised strip on a surface. In anatomical contexts, it refers to a linear prominence on a bone or a raised edge of an organ or tissue.


SIMPLE

The doctor felt the bony ridge along the patient's spine.

CONTEXTUAL

The surgeon carefully followed the supraorbital ridge above the eye to avoid damaging the underlying nerves.

COMPLEX

Detailed imaging revealed a slight thickening along the alveolar ridge, suggesting that the patient had been grinding their teeth for several years.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English rigge, rygge, (also rig, ryg, rug), from Old English hryċġ (“back, spine, ridge, elevated surface”), from Proto-West Germanic hrugi, from Proto-Germanic hrugjaz (“back”), from Proto-Indo-European (s)krewk-, (s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots rig (“back, spine, ridge”), North Frisian reg (“back”), West Frisian rêch (“back”), Dutch rug (“back, ridge”), German Rücken (“back, ridge”), Swedish rygg (“back, spine, ridge”), Icelandic hryggur (“spine”). Cognate to Albanian kërrus (“to bend one's back”) and kurriz (“back”).

Usage

Often used with prepositions like 'along' or 'on' to describe the location of the raised area.

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