A ski jump is a ramp, chute, or other incline built as a track for launching skiers, usually onto a soaring trajectory which ends below on a snow-covered slope. The track on the ski jump should be covered with snow or coated with some substitute (such as ice, wax, or other lubricant) when operational.

The incline guides the skier toward the takeoff point before the airborne part of the jump. A suitable snow cover or substitute provides the operational sliding surface.

The skier leaves the guiding track at takeoff. A summer sledway instead carries sleds along their downhill course without that ski-launching purpose.