to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner.
to rip open a seam; to rip up a sheet.
to cut or tear away in a rough or vigorous manner.
to rip bark from a tree.
to saw (wood) in the direction of the grain.
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?
to become torn apart or split open.
Cheap cloth rips easily.
Informal. to move with violence or great speed.
The sports car ripped along in a cloud of dust and exhaust fumes.
a rent made by ripping; tear.
Slang. a cheat, swindle, or theft; ripoff.
The average consumer doesn't realize that the new tax is a rip.
rip out to utter angrily, as with an oath or exclamation.
rip off
to steal or pilfer.
to rob or steal from.
to swindle, cheat, or exploit; take advantage of.
phony charity appeals that rip off a gullible public.
rip into to attack physically or verbally; assail.
a dissolute or worthless person.
a worthless or worn-out horse.
something of little or no value.
something or someone of little or no value
an old worn-out horse
a dissolute character; reprobate
to tear or be torn violently or roughly; split or be rent
(tr; foll by off or out) to remove hastily, carelessly, or roughly
they ripped out all the old kitchen units
informal (intr) to move violently or precipitously; rush headlong
informal to pour violent abuse (on); make a verbal attack (on)
(tr) to saw or split (wood) in the direction of the grain
informal (tr) computing to copy (music or software) without permission or making any payment
to act or speak without restraint
the place where something is torn; a tear or split
short for ripsaw
A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.
A rip current.
See tear 2.
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”
First recorded in 1765–75; see origin at rip 1, ripple 1
First recorded in 1770–80; of uncertain origin; possibly alteration of rep, shortened form of reprobate
From Latin requiēscat (or requiēscant ) in pāce
When you rip something, you tear it quickly or forcefully. It's almost always better to rip off a Band-Aid than to peel it off slowly. You can rip a piece of paper in half, or rip a hole in the roof of your tent. When you tear, split, or pull something apart, you rip it. You can also rip figuratively — like when your move to a new city rips you apart from your best friend. A rip off is a bad deal or a swindle, a phrase that's been popular since about 1970, although rip meaning "steal" was used as prison slang much earlier.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Following the verdict, Mieraili said: "RIP Thailand's justice system. I don't accept any of this. I didn't do anything wrong."
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
A comment from Yeovilton Military Wives Choir said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of those who sadly lost their lives. May they RIP."
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
“I’m all the way in Florida and have never been anywhere near SoCal and even I know how legendary that venue is. RIP to a real one,” lamented another.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
"RIP acl, see you all next year," she wrote.
From Barron's • Nov. 29, 2025
Downtown Clover started at a boarded-up gas station with RIP spray-painted across its front, and ended at an empty lot that once held the depot where Henrietta caught her train to Baltimore.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
