ripen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to make or become ripe.
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to bring or come to maturity, the proper condition, etc.; mature.
verb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other Word Forms
- half-ripened adjective
- overripen verb
- ripener noun
- underripened adjective
- unripened adjective
- unripening adjective
- well-ripened adjective
Etymology
Origin of ripen
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.
Back at base camp, the fruits were frozen to halt further ripening.
From Science Daily
The sale and purchase of calcium carbide is regulated in India, but farmers and shopkeepers often use it to artificially ripen fruit.
From BBC
And like every such show, it can be expected to ripen with age, if age comes.
From Los Angeles Times
“Unlike during childhood, Act III is a quiet ripening. It takes time and experience, and yes, perhaps the inevitable slowing down,” she wrote.
From Los Angeles Times
Wild chimpanzees have been found to consume the equivalent of a bottle of lager's alcohol a day from eating ripened fruit, scientists say.
From BBC
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.
