ripe

[ rahyp ]

adjective

, rip·er, rip·est.

1. having arrived at such a stage of growth or development as to be ready for reaping, gathering, eating, or use, as grain or fruit; completely matured.

   Synonyms: aged, grown

2. resembling such fruit, as in ruddiness and fullness:

   ripe, red lips.

3. advanced to the point of being in the best condition for use, as cheese or beer.
4. fully grown or developed, as animals when ready to be killed and used for food.
5. arrived at the highest or a high point of development or excellence; mature.
6. of mature judgment or knowledge:

   ripe scholars; a ripe mind.

7. characterized by full development of body or mind:

   of ripe years.

8. (of time) advanced:

   a ripe old age.

9. (of ideas, plans, etc.) ready for action, execution, etc.
10. (of people) fully prepared or ready to do or undergo something:

    He was ripe for a change in jobs.

11. fully or sufficiently advanced; ready enough; auspicious:

    The time is ripe for a new foreign policy.

12. ready for some operation or process:

    a ripe abscess.

13. Archaic. drunk:

    reeling ripe.

ripe

/ raɪp /

adjective

1. (of fruit, grain, etc) mature and ready to be eaten or used; fully developed
2. mature enough to be eaten or used

   ripe cheese

3. fully developed in mind or body
4. resembling ripe fruit, esp in redness or fullness

   a ripe complexion

5. postpositivefoll byfor ready or eager (to undertake or undergo an action)
6. postpositivefoll byfor suitable; right or opportune

   the time is not yet ripe

7. mature in judgment or knowledge
8. advanced but healthy (esp in the phrase a ripe old age )
9. slang.
   1. complete; thorough
   2. excessive; exorbitant
10. slang.
    slightly indecent; risqué

Derived Forms

• ˈripeness, noun
• ˈripely, adverb

Other Words From

• ripely adverb
• ripeness noun
• half-ripe adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripe¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English rīpe; cognate with Dutch rijp, German reif; akin to Old English ripan “to harvest, reap”; reap

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripe¹

Old English rīpe ; related to Old Saxon rīpi , Old High German rīfi , German reif

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with ripe , also see time is ripe .

Synonym Study

Ripe, mature, mellow refer to that which is no longer in an incomplete stage of development. Ripe implies completed growth beyond which the processes of decay begin: a ripe banana. Mature means fully grown and developed as used of living organisms: a mature animal; a mature tree. Mellow denotes complete absence of sharpness or asperity, with sweetness and richness such as characterize ripeness or age: mellow fruit; mellow flavor.

Example Sentences

Caring for employees has never been harder, therefore, or more ripe for change.

From Fortune

Silbert, however, believes the opportunity is ripe for North American crypto firms to reclaim a significant share of the world’s mining power.

From Fortune

For each region, the team determined whether conditions were ripe for a flare-inducing double-arc instability, and then aimed to predict the most powerful flares the sun produces, called X-class flares.

From Science News

The moment was ripe for a novel statewide organizing approach.

From Voice of San Diego

He had the insight to tell when infrared technology, formerly the province of the experts, was ripe for routine use in a big project.

From The Smithsonian Insider

The time is ripe—and right—for action to begin that would divest Russia of the World Cup and award it to another nation.

From The Daily Beast

Police sources informed  Reforma that both action are considered “high risk” and ripe for “anarchist infiltration.”

From The Daily Beast

In 1968, at the ripe age of 14, I was at the Miami convention carrying my Rockefeller sign on the convention floor.

From The Daily Beast

But one issue, intriguingly, seems ripe for genuine bipartisan cooperation: criminal justice reform.

From The Daily Beast

The Judge is currently set for an October 10 release date, a ripe calendar spot for a potential Oscar run.

From The Daily Beast

I prayed for her before the temple, and unto the very end I will seek after her, and she flourished as a grape soon ripe.

From Project Gutenberg

Perhaps another reason may be named in the wood being so ripe and dry as to permit free vibration.

From Project Gutenberg

They soon reached a small island where ripe fruits were abundant, and where they could provide fresh supplies for the ships.

From Project Gutenberg

Christianity spread rapidly because the Roman Empire was ripe for a new religion.

From Project Gutenberg

When the leaf is ripe, it gets yellow spots on it; and on bending the leaf it cracks.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• mature
• overdue
• plump
• prepared
• ready