rip off
Britishverb
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(tr) to tear violently or roughly (from)
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slang (adverb) to steal from or cheat (someone)
noun
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slang an article or articles stolen
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slang a grossly overpriced article
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slang the act of stealing or cheating
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Steal, as in They fired him when they caught him ripping off some of the merchandise .
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Cheat, defraud, as in These advertising claims have ripped off a great many consumers .
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Copy, plagiarize, as in He was sued for ripping off someone else's thesis . All three usages are slang from the second half of the 1900s.
Explanation
A rip-off is when someone deliberately overcharges for something they're selling, or steals someone else's idea. A movie that uses the exact same plot as an earlier movie might be considered a rip-off. Rip-off is an informal term for a theft or fraud of some kind. If you claim you're selling rare, antique postcards, but they're actually cheap copies you made at home, that's a rip-off. And if you copy an artist's design, print it on a t-shirt, and sell it, that's also a rip-off. First used in the 1960s, rip-off comes from African American slang, from the vernacular rip, "to steal."
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.
As the night wore on and the energy in the stands flatlined, they piled into an empty section in the upper reaches of the right field seats with plans to rip off their shirts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
When he rises to leave, Hank calls Aaron by his real name, causing Aaron to turn around and rip off Hank’s mask.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
They didn’t need their star to rip off a 27-19 run to finish the quarter and take a commanding 13-point lead into the fourth.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Streeting previously insisted that he would not allow pharma companies to "rip off" taxpayers and described drug companies' approach as "short-sighted".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
A block away, I retrieve the napkin from my pocket, rip off my message, and place it on my tongue.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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.
