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• rip
  rip

  verb (used with object)

  to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner.
• Rip
  Rip

  noun

  a male given name, form of Robert.
• RIP
  RIP

  abbreviation

  rest in peace:
• R.I.P.
  R.I.P.

  The abbreviation for “rest in peace,” often found on gravestones or in obituaries. From the Latin, requiescat in pace.

rip

¹ American  

[rip] / rɪp /

verb (used with object)

• rips,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ripped,
  past participle,  past
• ripping
  present participle

1. to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner.

   to rip open a seam; to rip up a sheet.

2. to cut or tear away in a rough or vigorous manner.

   to rip bark from a tree.

3. to saw (wood) in the direction of the grain.

4. 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?

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verb (used without object)

• rips,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ripped,
  past participle,  past
• ripping
  present participle

1. to become torn apart or split open.

   Cheap cloth rips easily.

2. Informal. to move with violence or great speed.

   The sports car ripped along in a cloud of dust and exhaust fumes.

noun

1. a rent made by ripping; tear.

   Synonyms:

   cut, laceration

2. Slang. a cheat, swindle, or theft; ripoff.

   The average consumer doesn't realize that the new tax is a rip.

verb phrase

1. rip out to utter angrily, as with an oath or exclamation.

2. rip off

   1. to steal or pilfer.

   2. to rob or steal from.

   3. to swindle, cheat, or exploit; take advantage of.

      phony charity appeals that rip off a gullible public.

3. rip into to attack physically or verbally; assail.

idioms

1. let rip,

   1. to utter a series of oaths; swear.

   2. to speak or write violently, rapidly, or at great length.

   3. to allow to proceed at full speed or without restraint.

rip ² American  

[rip] / rɪp /

noun

1. a stretch of turbulent water at sea or in a river.

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rip ³ American  

[rip] / rɪp /

noun

Informal.

1. a dissolute or worthless person.

2. a worthless or worn-out horse.

3. something of little or no value.

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Rip ⁴ American  

[rip] / rɪp /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Robert.

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RIP ⁵ American  

[ahr-ahy-pee, rip] / ˈɑrˈaɪˈpi, rɪp /

Or R.I.P.

abbreviation

1. rest in peace:

   1. (used, especially on grave markers and memorials, to wish peace after death upon a deceased person).

   2. Often Facetious. (used to indicate that a person or thing has been destroyed or damaged).

      RIP to my dignity after that awful spin class.

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rip ¹ British  

/ rɪp /

noun

1. something or someone of little or no value

2. an old worn-out horse

3. a dissolute character; reprobate

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rip ² British  

/ rɪp /

verb

1. to tear or be torn violently or roughly; split or be rent

2. (tr; foll by off or out) to remove hastily, carelessly, or roughly

   they ripped out all the old kitchen units

3. informal (intr) to move violently or precipitously; rush headlong

4. informal to pour violent abuse (on); make a verbal attack (on)

5. (tr) to saw or split (wood) in the direction of the grain

6. informal (tr) computing to copy (music or software) without permission or making any payment

7. to act or speak without restraint

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noun

1. the place where something is torn; a tear or split

2. short for ripsaw

rip ³ British  

/ rɪp /

noun

1. short for riptide

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RIP ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. requiescat or requiescant in pace

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rip Scientific  

/ rĭp /

1. A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.

2. A rip current.

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R.I.P. Cultural  

1. The abbreviation for “rest in peace,” often found on gravestones or in obituaries. From the Latin, requiescat in pace.

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rip More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rip

• let it rip

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Synonym Usage

See tear ².

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rippable
  adjective
• unrippable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• ripping
  present
• ripped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rip
  simple
• rips
  simple
• have ripped
  perfect
• has ripped
  perfect
• am ripping
  progressive
• are ripping
  progressive
• is ripping
  progressive
• have been ripping
  perfect progressive
• has been ripping
  perfect progressive

Past

• ripped
  simple
• had ripped
  perfect
• was ripping
  progressive
• were ripping
  progressive
• had been ripping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rip
  simple
• will have ripped
  perfect
• will be ripping
  progressive
• will have been ripping
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

rip Rip RIP R.I.P. rips ripped ripping

"Stay away from beaches and coastal areas where rough surf and rip currents could sweep you away," it added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

The fans goaded Kuniskis to rip a burnout, spinning the truck’s wheels in place until rubber turned into smoke.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Once again, he said, the state was trying to rip away his good name and falsely brand him a killer.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

Coastal areas have also seen dangerous rip currents and elevated surf in recent weeks amid multiple southerly swells, most recently due to Tropical Storm Genevieve.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

“She’s better,” I whisper to myself as I scratch a patch of dirt clear of leaf litter, then rip out a buckthorn shoot hiding underneath.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

For the country’s semiquincentennial, my editors asked a question: What if old Rip had slept not for 20 years but 250?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

"Don't get caught out," warns Louise Minchin, who presents the BBC's Rip Off Britain programme, advising regifters to remove any labels or notes that might be addressed to someone else.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025

A Rip Van Winkle who slept through the last half-century and awoke on Monday, Oct.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2025

Rip up your 2025 diary and take the pages from the first six months and burn them in your fireplace.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2025

I’m like that old man with the beard, Rip Van Winkle.

From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

RIP: Despite a Season 2 renewal earlier this year, Disney just announced “Wonder Man” has been canceled.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

RIP, Sam Neill: The New Zealand actor died unexpectedly today at 78.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

The protesters, gathered to support Diarra's family, members of whom also took part, unfurled banners reading "Justice" and "RIP", before marching to the local police station.

From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026

Former Bradford striker Dean Windass wrote on X: "Sad news, great man and a gentleman. Thoughts go to his family RIP."

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026

Downtown Clover started at a boarded-up gas station with RIP spray-painted across its front, and ended at an empty lot that once held the depot where Henrietta caught her train to Baltimore.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

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

You’d nod and then ask the person on what wall she wanted the R.I.P. and what to paint on it.

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

An alarm on his pager rips him from sleep at 1 a.m.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

As a once-in-a-century storm rips the place apart, Tom’s conversion may have arrived too late for the town, its visitors and his family.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 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

Izzie is so happy he rips opens the package.

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar

Streaks cover its heat shield, an indicator of the heat and forces that ripped across it as the vehicle powered back to Earth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Brown was also said to have ripped out smoke alarms.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

After Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Wednesday the Treasury would be doubling its buybacks of government bonds in the 10-30 year tenor, the gold price ripped 3% to the $4,550 an ounce level.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

“From my experience, the skincare I used that was American just kind of ripped my skin off,” Anna Draves, 24, added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

No, not just afraid but ripped with fear, and it was on the doe.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

KAMPALA, Uganda—The scariest thing about the Ebola strain ripping through East Africa this year might be rather surprising: It isn’t quite as lethal as those in earlier outbreaks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

That’s when you can think about ripping off the bandage and converting funds to Roth with an eye to the tax rate of the next generation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

By comparison Uganda has had nine since 2000, with officials there saying lessons learnt from past tragedies have allowed them to stop the disease ripping through the country on various occasions.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Moments later, however, he promised the audience “we’ll do a little ripping if you don’t mind,” signaling a shift away from the night’s opening message of resilience.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

I use sarcasm to deflect the tidal wave of terror that’s ripping through my body right now.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• burst
• hack
• score
• shred
• slit
• split