rip current
Americannoun
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A strong, narrow surface current that flows rapidly away from the shore. Rip currents form when excess water that has accumulated along a shore due to wind and waves rushes back suddenly to deeper waters.
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Also called rip tide
Etymology
Origin of rip current
First recorded in 1935–40
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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.
If caught in a rip current, don’t panic, officials advised.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Two miles away in Ocean Beach, a surfer alerted the lifeguard tower that a dog had been swept into a rip current and was drifting out to sea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025
People visiting Wales' beaches and coasts over the bank holiday weekend are being warned about the possibility of unusually large waves and dangerous sea conditions after a series of rip current rescues.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025
Det Ch Insp Third said: "It would appear to have been a rip current and a tragic accident."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2024
She has continued to exist, survived her childhood illnesses, the near-drowning in a rip current on Rockaway Beach at the age of twelve, other dramas.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
