rib

¹ American  

[rib] / rɪb /

noun

• ribs
  plural

1. one of a series of curved bones that are articulated with the vertebrae and occur in pairs, 12 in humans, on each side of the vertebrate body, certain pairs being connected with the sternum and forming the thoracic wall.

2. a cut of meat, as beef, containing a rib.

3. ribs, spareribs.

4. Architecture.

   1. any of several archlike members of a vault supporting it at the groins, defining its distinct surfaces, or dividing these surfaces into panels: including ogives and tiercerons.

   2. any of several molded members or moldings, including ridge ribs and liernes, and on the surface of a vault accenting the ridges or dividing the surface into panels.

5. something resembling a rib in form, position, or use, as a supporting or strengthening part.

6. a structural member that supports the shape of something.

   an umbrella rib.

7. Nautical. any of the curved framing members in a ship's hull that rise upward and outward from the keel; frame.

8. a stiffening beam cast as part of a concrete slab.

9. a primary vein of a leaf.

10. a vertical ridge in cloth, especially in knitted fabrics.

11. a ridge, as in poplin or rep, caused by heavy yarn.

12. a wife (in humorous allusion to the creation of Eve. Genesis 2:21–22).

13. Ceramics. a scraper for smoothing clay being thrown on a potter's wheel.

14. a metal ridge running along the top of the barrel of a firearm to simplify aligning the sights.

15. a longitudinal strip of metal joining the barrels of a double-barreled gun.

---

verb (used with object)

ribbed, ribbing

1. to furnish or strengthen with ribs.

2. to enclose as with ribs.

3. to mark with riblike ridges or markings.

rib ² American  

[rib] / rɪb /

verb (used with object)

ribbed, ribbing

1. to tease; make fun of.

---

rib ¹ British  

/ rɪb /

verb

1. (tr) to tease or ridicule

---

noun

1. a joke or hoax

rib ² British  

/ rɪb /

noun

1. Technical name: costa.  any of the 24 curved elastic arches of bone that together form the chest wall in man. All are attached behind to the thoracic part of the spinal column Compare true rib false ribs floating rib

2. the corresponding bone in other vertebrates

3. a cut of meat including one or more ribs

4. a part or element similar in function or appearance to a rib, esp a structural or supporting member or a raised strip or ridge

5. a structural member in a wing that extends from the leading edge to the trailing edge and maintains the shape of the wing surface

6. a projecting moulding or band on the underside of a vault or ceiling, which may be structural or ornamental

7. one of a series of raised rows in knitted fabric See also ribbing

8. a raised ornamental line on the spine of a book where the stitching runs across it

9. any of the transverse stiffening timbers or joists forming the frame of a ship's hull

10. any of the larger veins of a leaf

11. a metal strip running along the top of the barrel of a shotgun or handgun and guiding the alignment of the sights

12. a vein of ore in rock

13. a projecting ridge of a mountain; spur

---

verb

1. to furnish or support with a rib or ribs

2. to mark with or form into ribs or ridges

3. to knit plain and purl stitches alternately in order to make raised rows in (knitting)

4. archaic to enclose with or as if with ribs

rib Scientific  

/ rĭb /

1. Any of a series of long, curved bones extending from the spine and enclosing the chest cavity. In mammals, reptiles, and birds, the ribs curve toward the center of the chest and in most cases attach to the sternum (breastbone). There are 12 pairs of ribs in humans.

2. See more at skeleton

3. One of the main veins of a leaf.

---

rib Idioms  

1. see stick to the ribs.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ribber
  noun
• ribless
  adjective
• riblike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ribs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rib¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English rib(b); cognate with Old Frisian rib, reb, Old Icelandic rif, German Rippe; akin to Russian rebró “rib,” Greek orophḗ “roof, ceiling”

Origin of rib²

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; probably from rib ¹ ( def. ) (because tickling the ribs provokes laughter)

Explanation

A rib is a curved bone in a person's chest. Your ribs protect your internal organs. A rib is also the curved bone in a pig’s chest, and some people eat that with barbeque sauce. Ribs are strong and flexible, and they form a kind of protective cage around our soft inside parts. Animals have ribs, too — fish even have two sets of ribs. If you're a meat eater, you probably know that pigs and cows have ribs that are a popular menu item at barbecue restaurants. Things that resemble anatomical ribs, like raised rows in a knitted garment — are also called ribs. And to rib someone is to tease them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rib ribs ribbed ribbing

Unordered prime rib from the hotel’s steakhouse goes into a stew at the buffet the next day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Flintoff suffered serious facial and rib injuries when the open-topped three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 he was driving rolled over.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The park and its surroundings exploded into a collective cheer that tickled my rib cage and resonated deep in my ear canal to the point I had to cover my ears.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

We tend to think of ambitious centerpiece proteins as the terrain of cold-weather holidays: the Thanksgiving turkey, the glazed ham or the New Year’s Eve prime rib.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

He felt the secret building up inside him, a living thing rattling around his rib cage.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Epicurious’ recipe for a delicious summertime lettuce soup seasons, boils and purées a whole head of lettuce, including both the leaves and ribs, coarsely chopped.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

This work revealed the skull had bite marks, and previously broken ribs that had healed in its lifetime.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The facade has vertical ridges running down the side, which Diamond said was inspired by the ribs of Saguaro cactuses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Then he felt a kick to the ribs and heard his father, a military veteran, saying, “Are you OK? Are you OK? Get up, get up—people are hurt.”

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Working the handle back through my hands until the net was close to me, I poked a finger through the mesh and tickled one in the ribs.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

“In the Bozeman area, are you going to get ribbed and teased for being from L.A.? Yes. But do I think people really care after you get that ribbing? No,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026

She moves quickly from caves to cathedrals and their architecture, including King’s College Chapel, in Cambridge, with its soaring 16th-century ceiling—the world’s largest fan vault, ribbed in interlocking patterns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

She even ribbed “Marty Supreme” actor Timothée Chalamet once again, noting that he was the first actor in history who had to put on muscle to film a movie about ping-pong.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026

Oatmeal, the once-humble slop of Puritans and heart-healthy dads, now served in ribbed ceramic bowls under a snowfall of hemp hearts and bee pollen.

From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2025

Min was inscribing lotus blossoms and peonies between the ribbed lines of one of the melon vases.

From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park

On Wednesday, the usual bad-tempered jibes and angry exchanges witnessed in the political theatre of the weekly Prime Minister's Questions, were replaced by gentle ribbing.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

“In the Bozeman area, are you going to get ribbed and teased for being from L.A.? Yes. But do I think people really care after you get that ribbing? No,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026

When Paul pressed him again about his lack of apology, lack of contrition, and inability to even say he “misspoke,” while ribbing him about his “low impulse control” and presentation of “machismo,” Mullin didn’t waver.

From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2026

None have more than Marchand, whose ribbing style once earned the nickname “Little Ball of Hate” from none other than former President Barack Obama.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2025

Her father sat next to Prince Con, who suffered the good-natured ribbing of Kaede’s three brothers for cutting off his hair.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo