rip cord


noun
  1. a cord on a parachute that, when pulled, opens the parachute for descent.

  2. a cord fastened in the bag of a passenger balloon or dirigible so that a sharp pull upon it will rip or open the bag and let the gas escape, causing the balloon to descend rapidly.

Origin of rip cord

1
First recorded in 1905–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rip cord in a sentence

  • I was 23,000 feet up which about four mi1es and did what I was not supposed to do I pulled the ripcord to open my chute.

  • The Major triumphantly pulled a ripcord, and the sheet dropped away.

    The Great Potlatch Riots | Allen Kim Lang
  • Even if you're already dead, pull the ripcord ring of your chute!

    Lords of the Stratosphere | Arthur J. Burks

British Dictionary definitions for ripcord

ripcord

/ (ˈrɪpˌkɔːd) /


noun
  1. a cord that when pulled opens a parachute from its pack

  2. a cord on the gas bag of a balloon that when pulled opens a panel, enabling gas to escape and the balloon to descend

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