rip
verb (used with object)
to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner.
rip
1 American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
verb (used with object)
-
rips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ripped,
past participle, past
-
ripping
present participle
-
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?
verb (used without object)
-
rips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ripped,
past participle, past
-
ripping
present participle
-
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.
noun
-
a rent made by ripping; tear.
- Synonyms:
- cut, laceration
-
Slang. a cheat, swindle, or theft; ripoff.
The average consumer doesn't realize that the new tax is a rip.
verb phrase
-
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.
idioms
rip
2
American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
noun
rip
3
American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
noun
Informal.
-
a dissolute or worthless person.
-
a worthless or worn-out horse.
-
something of little or no value.
Rip
4
American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
noun
RIP
5
American
[ahr-ahy-pee, rip]
/ ˈɑrˈaɪˈpi, rɪp /
Or
R.I.P.
abbreviation
rip
1
British
/ rɪp /
noun
-
something or someone of little or no value
-
an old worn-out horse
-
a dissolute character; reprobate
rip
2
British
/ rɪp /
verb
-
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
noun
-
the place where something is torn; a tear or split
-
short for ripsaw
rip
3
British
/ rɪp /
noun
RIP
4
British
abbreviation
rip
Scientific
/ rĭp /
-
A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.
-
A rip current.
R.I.P.
Cultural
rip
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
See tear 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ripsimple
-
ripssimple
-
have rippedperfect
-
has rippedperfect
-
am rippingprogressive
-
are rippingprogressive
-
is rippingprogressive
-
have been rippingperfect progressive
-
has been rippingperfect progressive
Past
-
rippedsimple
-
had rippedperfect
-
was rippingprogressive
-
were rippingprogressive
-
had been rippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rip1
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”
Origin of rip2
First recorded in 1765–75; see origin at rip 1, ripple 1
Origin of rip3
First recorded in 1770–80; of uncertain origin; possibly alteration of rep, shortened form of reprobate
Origin of RIP5
From Latin requiēscat (or requiēscant ) in pāce
Explanation
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.
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:
"Stay away from beaches and coastal areas where rough surf and rip currents could sweep you away," it added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The fans goaded Kuniskis to rip a burnout, spinning the truck’s wheels in place until rubber turned into smoke.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Once again, he said, the state was trying to rip away his good name and falsely brand him a killer.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Homeowners have to rip up their whole bathroom or driveway if something goes wrong with their heated floors, Christian Perry, a Greenwich, Conn.-based real-estate agent, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
I decide right then to rip off the Band-Aid.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
For the country’s semiquincentennial, my editors asked a question: What if old Rip had slept not for 20 years but 250?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Later this year, Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser will star in “Dutton Ranch,” reprising their respective “Yellowstone” roles as John Dutton’s volcanic daughter Beth Dutton and her husband, boss ranch hand Rip Wheeler.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
A Rip Van Winkle who slept through the last half-century and awoke on Monday, Oct.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2025
Rip up your 2025 diary and take the pages from the first six months and burn them in your fireplace.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2025
According to the tale told by Washington Irving, when Rip Van Winkle awoke and returned to his village, twenty years had passed, and many things had changed.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
RIP: Despite a Season 2 renewal earlier this year, Disney just announced “Wonder Man” has been canceled.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
RIP, Sam Neill: The New Zealand actor died unexpectedly today at 78.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
The protesters, gathered to support Diarra's family, members of whom also took part, unfurled banners reading "Justice" and "RIP", before marching to the local police station.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
Chalamet, 30, responds with "Diogo Jota RIP", before asking if Cooper was from Liverpool.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026
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
Only Fools And Horses co-star Sue Holderness, who played Marlene in the sitcom, paid tribute to Murray on X, saying: "R.I.P. darling Patrick. Much love. You will be greatly missed."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
If so, there could be no one around to put an R.I.P. on humanity’s gravestone.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2024
If that doesn’t spike the ratings, then R.I.P.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2023
Most end with loved ones sharing R.I.P. posts.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2021
“On the wall of P.S. 101’s schoolyard. The back wall. The one that faces 111th Street. Freddy would hang there all night. I want it to say, ‘Freddy the best of 109th Street, R.I.P.’
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
“It rips out Prop. 103’s good‑driver protections and replaces your actual driving record with a black‑box score built on sweeping data collection,’’ Balber said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The episode’s signature moment comes in a soliloquy from Gen Z hero Ava Daniels, in which she rips into the idea that A.I. is inevitable and talks about how we can and should fight it.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
The loud screech of a Typhoon and F-35 jet rips through the night sky above RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
Courtney rips the IV from her arm and escapes, barefoot and in a hospital gown.
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2026
A wind rips up from the mouth of the tunnel and blows his cap off.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
Around 2,000 had been evacuated from nearby villages as the fire ripped through the surrounding hills, damaging homes and destroying cars in the early hours.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
If such an object passed extremely close to Neptune, the planet's gravity could have ripped it apart through tidal forces.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
At that point, the Blues' hierarchy could have ripped up the modus operandi that had served them so well and pivoted towards more extensive overseas recruitment.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Shortly after, the developer bulldozed the entire place, ripped out trees and erected a 4,700-square-foot box house complete with an eight-foot-tall tiger painted by the front door.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Though he must have been terrified at being ripped from all that was familiar to him, his later description made it sound almost like an adventure.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Consumer group Which? said it has "repeatedly exposed businesses, including trusted household brands, ripping off customers with dodgy deals that aren't what they seem".
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
KAMPALA, Uganda—The scariest thing about the Ebola strain ripping through East Africa this year might be rather surprising: It isn’t quite as lethal as those in earlier outbreaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
"And that's not just writers who continually return to the Greeks and Romans -- the history, the myths, the characters, the events -- that's also readers. These are ripping good yarns."
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Views of just one of the wildfires ripping across Ontario, Canada yesterday.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
With frightening suddenness he now began ripping the pages out of the book in handfuls and throwing them in the waste-paper basket.
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
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.
