rope
Americannoun
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ropes
plural
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a strong, thick line or cord, commonly one composed of twisted or braided strands of hemp, flax, or the like, or of wire or other material.
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a lasso.
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ropes,
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the cords used to enclose a prize ring or other space.
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Informal. the operations of a business or the details of any undertaking.
The new employee didn't take long to learn the ropes.
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a hangman's noose, halter, or cord.
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the sentence or punishment of death by hanging.
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a quantity of material or a number of things twisted or strung together in the form of a cord.
a rope of tobacco.
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a stringy, viscid, or glutinous formation in a liquid.
ropes of slime.
verb (used with object)
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ropes,
present (3rd person singular)
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roped,
past participle, past
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roping
present participle
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to tie, bind, or fasten with a rope.
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to enclose, partition, or mark off with a rope or ropes (often followed byoff ).
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to catch with a lasso; lasso.
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Nautical. to reinforce (a sail or awning) with a boltrope.
verb (used without object)
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ropes,
present (3rd person singular)
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roped,
past participle, past
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roping
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
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give someone enough rope, to allow a person complete freedom to continue their misdeeds in hope that retribution will follow.
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at the end of one's rope, at the end of one's endurance or means; at the limit.
With all her savings gone and bills piling up, she was at the end of her rope.
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on the ropes,
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Boxing. in a defenseless position, as leaning against the ropes to keep from falling.
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Informal. in a desperate or hopeless position; close to defeat or failure.
By repeatedly undercutting his prices, his competitors soon had him on the ropes.
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noun
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a fairly thick cord made of twisted and intertwined hemp or other fibres or of wire or other strong material
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( as modifier )
a rope bridge
a rope ladder
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a row of objects fastened or united to form a line
a rope of pearls
a rope of onions
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a quantity of material twisted or wound in the form of a cord
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anything in the form of a filament or strand, esp something viscous or glutinous
a rope of slime
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a rope, noose, or halter used for hanging
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death by hanging, strangling, etc
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to allow someone to accomplish his own downfall by his own foolish acts
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to have a thorough understanding of a particular sphere of activity
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to be experienced in the ways of the world
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boxing driven against the ropes enclosing the ring by an opponent's attack
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in a defenceless or hopeless position
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verb
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(tr) to bind or fasten with or as if with a rope
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to enclose or divide by means of a rope
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(intr) to become extended in a long filament or thread
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mountaineering to tie (climbers) together with a rope
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ropesimple
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ropessimple
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have ropedperfect
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has ropedperfect
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am ropingprogressive
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are ropingprogressive
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is ropingprogressive
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have been ropingperfect progressive
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has been ropingperfect progressive
Past
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ropedsimple
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had ropedperfect
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was ropingprogressive
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were ropingprogressive
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had been ropingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rope
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun rop(e), rap(e), Old English rāp; cognate with Dutch reep, German Reif; verb derivative of the noun
Explanation
A rope is made by twisting strands of fiber together into a single, sturdy length. Use a rope to make a swing, tie a hog, or keep people out of your tree house. Ropes are handy on sailboats for tying up sails; you also use ropes for mountain climbing, lassoing a steer, raising a curtain on a theater stage, and doing aerial tricks in the circus. As a verb, rope means "catch with a rope," or colloquially, to convince someone to do something: "She'll try to rope me into helping with the bake sale." When you show someone "the ropes," you explain the way things are done.
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:
According to Jake, the producers and the studio heads were at the end of their rope.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
A new project can always use a helping hand — some popular IP, a respected brand name — to skip to the front of the line and cross the velvet rope to an audience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Think of the fight against climate change like a tug-of-war, with emissions on one end of the rope and efforts to mitigate them on the other.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026
The two were attached to the same rope, their legs wrapped in it.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Afterward, Dad told me to get the ladder, and we’d ride down to school to run the rope back up the bell tower.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Rookies can learn the ropes in a way that works best for them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Newcomer Donald started the carnage, ramping Dushmantha Chameera's first ball over the ropes, before Buttler joined the party and Brook then launched three of his own into the stands.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Dresses made of silver gift ribbon and plastic jump ropes had the effect of an espresso shot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
"After descending through the opening using ropes and calling out to those inside, no response was received," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
He walked toward JB, ropes still dangling from his hands.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
They have also roped in an environmental activist group, which has launched a petition calling for citizens to be authorised as guardians of urban trees.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
On the second pitch of the at-bat, Hernández recognized a hung slider, and he roped it over the left-field fence at 109.3 mph, according to Statcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Three of the group - Bex, Ali Wright and Amanda Jean - work with local radio station Now Ayrshire, which is why they all ended up roped into this escapade.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
In “Rooster,” Steve Carell plays Greg Russo, a divorced bestselling author roped into accepting a writer’s residency at the university where his daughter teaches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
I’d roped Danielle and Anna into my wicked plan, which led to Peter’s devastating snowball.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
Chaplin is a master sentimentalist, but not averse to occasional sharpness: The moment the film’s boatload of immigrants sees the Statue of Liberty is followed by an official roping them off like cattle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
But she will not be roping in her mum, Liz, to help out despite the former world 10,000m champion being desperate to step in and lend a hand.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
Beyond roping off a large section of the store for e-commerce fulfillment, the company plans separate access sites for in-store shoppers, delivery drivers, and trucks, according to the proposal.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
So, Hearn gravitated to events like tie-down calf roping, where he was judged primarily by a clock, not a human.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
He had never heard it called Texas roping before; he knew it as steer roping, because they used old stringy Mexican steers rather than more expensive cows or calves.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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.
