rip off

British  

verb

1. (tr) to tear violently or roughly (from)

2. slang (adverb) to steal from or cheat (someone)

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noun

1. slang an article or articles stolen

2. slang a grossly overpriced article

3. slang the act of stealing or cheating

rip off Idioms  

1. Steal, as in They fired him when they caught him ripping off some of the merchandise .

2. Cheat, defraud, as in These advertising claims have ripped off a great many consumers .

3. Copy, plagiarize, as in He was sued for ripping off someone else's thesis . All three usages are slang from the second half of the 1900s.

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Explanation

A rip-off is when someone deliberately overcharges for something they're selling, or steals someone else's idea. A movie that uses the exact same plot as an earlier movie might be considered a rip-off. Rip-off is an informal term for a theft or fraud of some kind. If you claim you're selling rare, antique postcards, but they're actually cheap copies you made at home, that's a rip-off. And if you copy an artist's design, print it on a t-shirt, and sell it, that's also a rip-off. First used in the 1960s, rip-off comes from African American slang, from the vernacular rip, "to steal."

Example Sentences

They rip off their clothes, dunk their heads in the dip and lead dance battles to La Bouche’s “Be My Lover.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

"Whether it is petrol at the pumps or heating oil, there is no excuse for any business to use this as an opportunity to rip off customers."

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

It comes after the chancellor said some heating oil companies are using the crisis in the Middle East "as an opportunity to rip off consumers".

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

And don’t discount that Chinese chip makers will figure out how to rip off Nvidia’s technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

A block away, I retrieve the napkin from my pocket, rip off my message, and place it on my tongue.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

Related Words

• swindle