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:
The exercises also involved helicopters from which personnel descended by rope.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
On the worst grades, wagons were lifted and lowered by pulley and rope.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
On my recent rereading of “The Secret Garden,” I was delighted by the moment when Mary, initially pale and peevish and uninterested in her breakfast, begins wandering the grounds with a jump rope in hand.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Mallory's name tag was on his clothing and a rope was still round his waist.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Though Aunt Fanny Hamline outweighed his horse, with all eight of us and Tansy pushing the wagon and pulling on the rope and the horse straining and pawing the road, we showed some progress.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
This is the same Jimmy Chin who later filmed Alex Honnold as he climbed El Capitan in Yosemite without ropes or harness in “Free Solo,” which won the 2019 Oscar for Best Documentary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Later it took further beatings as they worked out how the 8,000-pound horse could be dragged over dunes and log rollers by actors with ropes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The villagers are shouting as they haul on the ropes to pull the net in from the sea.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Artisans scale the trunks with ropes and spikes to reach the greenish base of each frond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
She followed those ropes round this tree and that.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Perhaps no representation of nightlife — other than Studio 54’s dance floor debauchery — got the same kind of media attention that the velvet roped, VIP-driven era of the early 2000s in Los Angeles did.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
He was roped into providing the group tele-healthcare years ago, but - moved by their plight - more recently became a broker and "delivery boy" for their temporary passports.
From BBC ● May 8, 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
It’s worth noting that it was the American officials at the treaty’s drafting sessions who insisted on Article 6, so that the U.S. military would not get roped in to fight Europe’s colonial wars.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2026
He wanted to show them the photos of Kainene and the roped pot, but then he thought better of it.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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
But a tour favorite — a stuffed roping calf given by a friend, artist Ed Borein, who had grown tired of Rogers lassoing him — burned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
When three days is gone past, we’ll have another roping and discuss all there is to do.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
