rip
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner.
to rip open a seam; to rip up a sheet.
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to cut or tear away in a rough or vigorous manner.
to rip bark from a tree.
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to saw (wood) in the direction of the grain.
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Digital Technology. to copy (audio or video files from a CD, DVD, or website) to a hard drive or mobile device, typically by extracting the raw data and changing the file format in the process.
Can you rip this CD for me?
verb (used without object)
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to become torn apart or split open.
Cheap cloth rips easily.
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Informal. to move with violence or great speed.
The sports car ripped along in a cloud of dust and exhaust fumes.
noun
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a rent made by ripping; tear.
- Synonyms:
- cut, laceration
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Slang. a cheat, swindle, or theft; ripoff.
The average consumer doesn't realize that the new tax is a rip.
verb phrase
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rip out to utter angrily, as with an oath or exclamation.
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rip off
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to steal or pilfer.
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to rob or steal from.
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to swindle, cheat, or exploit; take advantage of.
phony charity appeals that rip off a gullible public.
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rip into to attack physically or verbally; assail.
idioms
noun
noun
abbreviation
noun
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a dissolute or worthless person.
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a worthless or worn-out horse.
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something of little or no value.
verb
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to tear or be torn violently or roughly; split or be rent
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(tr; foll by off or out) to remove hastily, carelessly, or roughly
they ripped out all the old kitchen units
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informal (intr) to move violently or precipitously; rush headlong
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informal to pour violent abuse (on); make a verbal attack (on)
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(tr) to saw or split (wood) in the direction of the grain
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informal (tr) computing to copy (music or software) without permission or making any payment
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to act or speak without restraint
noun
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the place where something is torn; a tear or split
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short for ripsaw
abbreviation
noun
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something or someone of little or no value
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an old worn-out horse
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a dissolute character; reprobate
noun
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A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.
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A rip current.
Related Words
See tear 2.
Other Word Forms
- rippable adjective
- unrippable adjective
Etymology
Origin of rip1
First recorded in 1400–50; 1960–65 rip 1 for def. 10; Middle English rippen “to tear out (seams, sutures), rip, rip off”; further origin uncertain; obscurely akin to Frisian rippe, Middle Dutch rippen, reppen; compare dialectal English ripple “to scratch”
Origin of rip1
First recorded in 1765–75; rip 1, ripple 1
Origin of RIP1
From Latin requiēscat (or requiēscant ) in pāce
Origin of rip1
First recorded in 1770–80; of uncertain origin; possibly alteration of rep, shortened form of reprobate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She described being left without heating for three weeks as tradesmen ripped out her radiators and put in insulation around her and her family, leaving the house "uninhabitable".
From BBC
St Mirren are circling the drain, an injury crisis in midfield having ripped the heart out of Stephen Robinson's League Cup winners.
From BBC
If England were far from beating Australia with a sense of stability and growth, how do they get closer having switched tack and ripped up the plan?
From BBC
And his black bag was ripped open and empty, the contents probably recovered by their owners.
From Literature
The flight of a third of the country’s population ripped apart families and has shaped the cultural and political landscape in the dozens of nations where Venezuelans have settled.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
