Meaning & use
ridged
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Having narrow raised lines or strips on its surface.
Grammar: Mostly describes a surface: a ridged tire; it can also follow be: the shell is ridged.
Patterns
- ridged with something
- a ridged surface
The potato chips were ridged so they would hold more dip.
The beach sand was ridged by the retreating waves.
A ridged sole gives the boot a better grip on wet rock.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Marked by a long, narrow strip of higher ground, as on a hillside or in a landscape.
Grammar: Used in geography and nature description.
Patterns
- a ridged hillside
The ridged terrain made the hike hard.
From the plane the ridged mountains looked like folds of cloth.
Common combinations
- ridged surface
- The ridged surface of the mat stops it from slipping.
- ridged edge
- The coin has a ridged edge.
- ridged shell
- The clam had a heavy ridged shell.
- deeply ridged
- The tree bark was deeply ridged.
- ridged sole
- Her hiking boots have a ridged sole.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ribbed
- Ribbed often describes fabric or lines running in parallel, while ridged is more general for any raised lines on a surface.
- corrugated
- Corrugated describes material folded into waves, as in metal roofing, and is usually larger in scale than ridged.
- grooved
- Grooved describes lines cut into a surface, so it is the opposite shape from ridged, which has lines rising up.
- furrowed
- Furrowed suggests deep lines, such as on a forehead or field, and is more often used for sunken grooves.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ridged or rugged?
ridged vs rugged
Rugged describes rough, uneven land or a tough person, while ridged describes a surface with raised lines.
Practice
A hiker's boot has a ridged sole. Why is this useful?
Choose one answer.
A ridged sole has raised lines that grip the ground; the other options are not what ridges do.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ridged”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.