ripen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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ripens,
present (3rd person singular)
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ripened,
past participle, past
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ripening
present participle
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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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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ripenernoun
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overripenverb
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half-ripenedadjective
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underripenedadjective
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unripenedadjective
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unripeningadjective
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well-ripenedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ripensimple
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ripenssimple
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have ripenedperfect
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has ripenedperfect
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am ripeningprogressive
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are ripeningprogressive
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is ripeningprogressive
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have been ripeningperfect progressive
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has been ripeningperfect progressive
Past
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ripenedsimple
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had ripenedperfect
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was ripeningprogressive
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were ripeningprogressive
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had been ripeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ripen
Explanation
When fruit becomes ripe and ready to eat, it ripens. Tomatoes will ripen after you pick them, becoming darker red and more juicy. You can use ripen to talk about the maturing process of all fruits, and some vegetables — apples, peppers, and corn all need to ripen before they're at the perfect, delicious state for being eaten. Figuratively, you can also talk about people this way: "She is really starting to ripen as an actor!" Before ripen was coined around 1560, the verb was ripe, as in, "When the avocados ripe, I'll make guacamole."
Vocabulary lists containing ripen
Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 1
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"In Response to Executive Order 9066"
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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.
See Examples For:
The long hot dry days have helped ripen the fruit and "keep disease at bay", as Luck puts it.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Lamont’s recommendation therefore, is to exercise patience.”IPOs are like bananas: they need to ripen before they’re ready to eat.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Under the law, claims can go to federal court if a government agency denies them or doesn’t make a decision within six months, meaning the ones McCloskey dropped off could soon ripen for litigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
But once harvested, mangoes continue to ripen quickly, making them highly vulnerable to softening, moisture loss, and spoilage during storage and transport.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
The grain was just beginning to ripen and the fields were full of poppies.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
“The Gilded Age” has always plied high-toned melodrama as its chief asset, but Season 3 ripens the starched formality of previous episodes into succulence.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025
For most Scandinavian vineyards, solaris is the grape of choice - an aromatic, hybrid variety that's well-adapted to colder climes, ripens easily, and is more disease resistant, allowing vineyards to avoid spraying pesticides.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2024
Death is part of the natural scheme of things, he muses, comparing it with “an olive that ripens and falls. / Praising its mother, thanking the tree it grew on.”
From National Geographic ● Nov. 16, 2023
Summer ripens the leaves to a glossy gold until cooling fall temperatures induce a foliar flush of orange and red.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2023
So the God of the Vine was born of fire and nursed by rain, the hard burning heat that ripens the grapes and the water that keeps the plant alive.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Maintaining storage temperatures near 12°C may allow mangoes to be harvested earlier, transported over longer distances, and ripened closer to their final markets while minimizing spoilage and quality loss.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
Once they have ripened adequately, you can store them in the refrigerator for another week, but always serve them at room temperature.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
"These events have ripened one of the most iconic and important companies in the UK for a takeover by foreign investors," he added.
From BBC ● May 28, 2024
And the novelist Richard Ford once made it clear that questioning Ms. Munro’s mastery over the short story would be akin to doubting the hardness of a diamond or the bouquet of a ripened peach.
From New York Times ● May 14, 2024
When the pepper began ripening in January, it ripened on the lower branches first.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
Their study, published in Tropical Plants, found that the cooler temperature slows ripening, preserves fruit structure, and activates the mango's natural antioxidant defenses.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
Risk and ripening at Apple, Tojo’s destructive plan, a father’s formidable presence and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Grapefruit trees in the UK typically fruit once a year, with ripening taking up to 12 months after flowering in late spring or summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025
The company turned the so-called ripening rooms, where tomatoes once were stored, into dorm rooms that hold 14 workers each.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2025
When he saw Tortoise surveying his fields of ripening crops, he thought of the pleasure that must come from growing such fine food.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
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.
