ripe
Americanadjective
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having arrived at such a stage of growth or development as to be ready for reaping, gathering, eating, or use, as grain or fruit; completely matured.
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resembling such fruit, as in ruddiness and fullness.
ripe, red lips.
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advanced to the point of being in the best condition for use, as cheese or beer.
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fully grown or developed, as animals when ready to be killed and used for food.
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arrived at the highest or a high point of development or excellence; mature.
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of mature judgment or knowledge.
ripe scholars; a ripe mind.
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characterized by full development of body or mind.
of ripe years.
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(of time) advanced.
a ripe old age.
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(of ideas, plans, etc.) ready for action, execution, etc.
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(of people) fully prepared or ready to do or undergo something.
He was ripe for a change in jobs.
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fully or sufficiently advanced; ready enough; auspicious.
The time is ripe for a new foreign policy.
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ready for some operation or process.
a ripe abscess.
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Archaic. drunk.
reeling ripe.
adjective
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(of fruit, grain, etc) mature and ready to be eaten or used; fully developed
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mature enough to be eaten or used
ripe cheese
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fully developed in mind or body
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resembling ripe fruit, esp in redness or fullness
a ripe complexion
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ready or eager (to undertake or undergo an action)
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suitable; right or opportune
the time is not yet ripe
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mature in judgment or knowledge
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advanced but healthy (esp in the phrase a ripe old age )
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slang
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complete; thorough
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excessive; exorbitant
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slang slightly indecent; risqué
Synonym Usage
Ripe, mature, mellow refer to that which is no longer in an incomplete stage of development. Ripe implies completed growth beyond which the processes of decay begin: a ripe banana. Mature means fully grown and developed as used of living organisms: a mature animal; a mature tree. Mellow denotes complete absence of sharpness or asperity, with sweetness and richness such as characterize ripeness or age: mellow fruit; mellow flavor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of ripe
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English rīpe; cognate with Dutch rijp, German reif; akin to Old English ripan “to harvest, reap”; see reap
Explanation
When a fruit is ripe, it is time to pick it and eat it. If you say the time is ripe, then now is the time for action. Ripe means ready. Ripe can also describe something that is not only ready to happen but well-suited for whatever is happening. A company can expect profits if the market is ripe for its product. When a ballpark has a short field, batters will say that the field is ripe for home runs. When things are ripe, it's a good thing — the time for action is now.
Vocabulary lists containing ripe
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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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.
See Examples For:
“For people who want to manipulate the rules, the situation is ripe for getting stock with aggressive valuations into a Roth account, where the appreciation will be forever untaxed.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
But its vague wording was ripe for misinterpretation.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2026
“Conditions are ripe for one amid elevated valuations, continued geopolitical uncertainty, and low summer trading volume,” he added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The opportunity is ripe, Allman believes, because the Sheriff’s Department is losing its contract with Metro and it will have extra capacity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
It was a dark green, with a little pattern all over it that looked like ripe strawberries.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
It is still unknown whether chimpanzees deliberately choose fruits with higher ethanol levels, which tend to be riper and richer in sugar that can ferment.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2025
The riper it is, the fruitier it gets, becoming increasingly fragrant and sweet, and losing its acidity.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
In other words, apple growers and supermarkets began selling redder apples to convince consumers that redder meant riper and also, better.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2023
Miles Bron is a riper target with more recognizable real-world analogues than the eccentric novelist played by Christopher Plummer the first time around.
From New York Times ● Nov. 21, 2022
He was preceded by his stench, riper than the cheese and overpowering in the closed space.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
The Justice Department has charged an Army special forces soldier, alleging that he used one of the world’s ripest insider-trading platforms to profit off of advance knowledge of a military operation.
From Slate ● Apr. 24, 2026
Jaimin Rangwalla: What makes technology attractive is that it is one of the ripest areas for disruption.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
We’re the first ones there, and we’re getting all the ripest produce because we are up early.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
Sloe gin also has a Christmas association because the berries are at their ripest in the autumn, and its “earthy warm flavor” suits the time of year, she adds.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 1, 2024
“Morning,” I grumbled, taking the basket and shuffling outside to fill it with the ripest vegetables and fruit I could find.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
