rip off

British  

verb

1. (tr) to tear violently or roughly (from)

2. slang (adverb) to steal from or cheat (someone)

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noun

1. slang an article or articles stolen

2. slang a grossly overpriced article

3. slang the act of stealing or cheating

rip off Idioms  

1. Steal, as in They fired him when they caught him ripping off some of the merchandise .

2. Cheat, defraud, as in These advertising claims have ripped off a great many consumers .

3. 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.

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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

He described the fuel market generally as a "rip off".

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

And don’t discount that Chinese chip makers will figure out how to rip off Nvidia’s technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

“Financial rip-offs don’t just rip off Democrats or Republicans,” Kelleher told me.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2025

No firing a bow this time, instead showing remarkable courage to rip off his shirt in such atrocious weather.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2024

They learned how to rip off the legs first, then lift back the top shell.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Related Words

• swindle