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rip1

[rip]
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verb (used with object), ripped, rip·ping.
  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?Compare burn1(def 29).See also DAE
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verb (used without object), ripped, rip·ping.
  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.
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noun
  1. a rent made by ripping; tear.
  2. Slang. a cheat, swindle, or theft; ripoff: The average consumer doesn't realize that the new tax is a rip.
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Verb Phrases
  1. rip into, Informal. to attack physically or verbally; assail.
  2. rip off, Slang.
    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 out, Informal. to utter angrily, as with an oath or exclamation.
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Idioms
  1. let rip, Slang.
    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.
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Origin of rip1

1470–80; 1960–65 for def 10; obscurely akin to Frisian rippe, dialectal Dutch rippen; compare dialectal English ripple to scratch
Related formsrip·pa·ble, adjectiveun·rip·pa·ble, adjective
Can be confusedburglarize mug rip off rob steal (see synonym study at rob)

Synonyms

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1. See tear2. 7. laceration, cut.

rip2

[rip]
noun
  1. a stretch of turbulent water at sea or in a river.
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Origin of rip2

First recorded in 1765–75; see origin at rip1, ripple1

rip3

[rip]
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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Origin of rip3

1770–80; probably alteration of rep, shortened form of reprobate

Rip

[rip]
noun
  1. a male given name, form of Robert.
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R.I.P.

or RIP

  1. may he or she (or they) rest in peace.
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Origin of R.I.P.

< Latin requiēscat (or requiēscant) in pāce
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

slitbursthackscoresplitshredgashlacerationrentslashcleavageholerivecleaverendlacerateclawfrayfrazzle

Examples from the Web for rip

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Jim DID cry, and rip and dance and carry on, he was so thankful and out of his mind for joy.

    Tom Sawyer Abroad

    Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

  • If she doesn't, the rest of it won't amount to a rip with John Harkless.

  • What do you want to conwey to your own father, you young Rip?

    A Tale of Two Cities

    Charles Dickens

  • Then I tella hims that he should rip him ups and then I rip me ups--so.

  • If you are wise, you will get it too small for your head, and rip out the lining.

    The Forest

    Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for rip

RIP

abbreviation for
  1. requiescat or requiescant in pace
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Word Origin

Latin: may he, she, or they rest in peace

rip1

verb rips, ripping or ripped
  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 roughlythey ripped out all the old kitchen units
  3. (intr) informal to move violently or precipitously; rush headlong
  4. (intr foll by into) 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. (tr) informal computing to copy (music or software) without permission or making any payment
  7. let rip 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
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See also rip off, rip on, rip up
Derived Formsrippable, adjective

Word Origin

C15: perhaps from Flemish rippen; compare Middle Dutch rippen to pull

rip2

noun
  1. short for riptide (def. 1)
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Word Origin

C18: perhaps from rip 1

rip3

noun informal, archaic
  1. something or someone of little or no value
  2. an old worn-out horse
  3. a dissolute character; reprobate
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Word Origin

C18: perhaps altered from rep, shortened from reprobate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rip

v.

"tear apart," c.1400, probably of North Sea Germanic origin (cf. Flemish rippen "strip off roughly," Frisian rippe "to tear, rip") or else from a Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish reppa, Danish rippe "to tear, rip"). In either case, from Proto-Germanic *rupjan-, from PIE root *reup-, *reub- "to snatch." Meaning "to slash open" is from 1570s. Related: Ripped; ripping.

In garments we rip along the line at which they were sewed; we tear the texture of the cloth. ... Rend implies great force or violence. [Century Dictionary]

Meaning "to move with slashing force" (1798) is the sense in let her rip, American English colloquial phrase attested from 1853. The noun is attested from 1711. The parachutist's rip cord (1911) originally was a device in ballooning to open a panel and release air.

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n.1

"rough water," 1775, perhaps a special use of rip (v.). Originally of seas; application to rivers is from 1828.

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n.2

"thing of little value," 1815, earlier "inferior or worn-out horse" (1778), perhaps altered from slang rep (1747) "man of loose character; vicious, reckless and worthless person," which itself is perhaps short for reprobate (n.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
rip in Science

rip

[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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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
rip in Culture

R.I.P.

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

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with rip

rip

In addition to the idioms beginning with rip

  • ripe old age
  • rip into
  • rip off

also see:

  • let it rip
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.