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
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
-
something or someone of little or no value
-
an old worn-out horse
-
a dissolute character; reprobate
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:
To access the trees, he had to climb over a barbed wire fence and use a small step, joking that he did not want to rip his trousers.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
"Strong Nor'easter off the mid-Atlantic and northeast will bring coastal flooding, rip currents, strong wind gusts, and heavy rain to the region this weekend," the National Weather Service said on its website.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
I promised I would use Don’t Short Yourself to be vulnerable about my own finances, so let’s rip the Band-Aid off: I have racked up $7,500 in credit-card debt.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Their focus was on tidal disruption events, which occur when a star passes so close to a supermassive black hole that intense gravitational forces rip it apart.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
He settled down by the fire to mend the rip in his leggings where the Hidden People had grabbed him.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
“I grew up on the Westside. I went to school in Santa Monica. I bought my first skateboard at Rip City,” Adler said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James are just some of the names who feature in Nike's Rip the script World Cup advert.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
PopUp’s trademarked motto is “Grip, Rip, and Dip.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
A Rip Van Winkle who slept through the last half-century and awoke on Monday, Oct.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2025
I’m like that old man with the beard, Rip Van Winkle.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
"The grim physical state he found himself in has now ended, a blessing. Our blessing was that we had Tim Curry in our lives. RIP, my friend," he wrote.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
RIP: Despite a Season 2 renewal earlier this year, Disney just announced “Wonder Man” has been canceled.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Kelly's former colleague Anne Hailes paid tribute to him on social media, calling him a "big man who will leave big memories, RIP".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
RIP, Sam Neill: The New Zealand actor died unexpectedly today at 78.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
I’ve tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
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
Among the drawings is a sidewalk memorial showing the image of a Black boy on a poster marked R.I.P. attached to an iron fence and surrounded by flowers.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 15, 2022
The home of the Portland Trail Blazers ended up being R.I.P.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2022
“Thass good. You should do one last R.I.P. —for Bodega, you know?”
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
"There can be rips or currents, but most of the time this particular bit of the beach is quite safe."
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
Courtney rips the IV from her arm and escapes, barefoot and in a hospital gown.
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2026
I write Bully and hand it to Finch, who rips it into a hundred pieces and throws it on the heap.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
A section of the plane’s rudder—which controls side to side movements—was ripped from its tail, according to images of the aircraft and an official familiar with the initial investigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
As fire ripped through the apartment building, the stepfather of five paused to talk the unidentified pregnant woman out of jumping from the second-story window to the dirt and concrete below.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Arsenal: Solid start to their title defence until they were ripped apart by Brighton having survived a penalty scare at Sunderland.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
“Because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down.”
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The sandal ripped from my foot and staked into the ground.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
For help, they are turning to a cottage industry of multigeneration-workplace consultants and even artificial-intelligence bots, while ripping up the script for what used to be once-a-year evaluations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
After ripping out the tourists for only 133, England already have a 23-run advantage on 156-4.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Videos of first-time buyers ripping rare cards on TikTok have racked up millions of views, and new collectors have sprung up everywhere as a result of the fandom reaching fresh audiences on social media.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
"You can hear them ripping up the road," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
They weren’t tired, not even a little, judging by the way they had been ripping through the night, but they stopped dead.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
