Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for rip off. Search instead for whip off.
Synonyms

rip off

British  

verb

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

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

"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

noun

  1. slang an article or articles stolen

  2. slang a grossly overpriced article

  3. slang the act of stealing or cheating

"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
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.

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.

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

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

Adam Hug, leader of the council, said: "We have known for a long time that US candy stores rip off customers, but charging £900 for two packets of sweets is a new low."

From BBC • May 1, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2025

Then I would rip off my visor and leave my apartment for the first time in six months.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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.