ripe

[rahyp]

adjective

riper, ripest 

1. 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.

   Synonyms: aged, grown

2. resembling such fruit, as in ruddiness and fullness.

   ripe, red lips.

3. advanced to the point of being in the best condition for use, as cheese or beer.

4. fully grown or developed, as animals when ready to be killed and used for food.

5. arrived at the highest or a high point of development or excellence; mature.

6. of mature judgment or knowledge.

   ripe scholars; a ripe mind.

7. characterized by full development of body or mind.

   of ripe years.

8. (of time) advanced.

   a ripe old age.

9. (of ideas, plans, etc.) ready for action, execution, etc.

10. (of people) fully prepared or ready to do or undergo something.

    He was ripe for a change in jobs.

11. fully or sufficiently advanced; ready enough; auspicious.

    The time is ripe for a new foreign policy.

12. ready for some operation or process.

    a ripe abscess.

13. Archaic.,  drunk.

    reeling ripe.

ripe

/ raɪp /

adjective

1. (of fruit, grain, etc) mature and ready to be eaten or used; fully developed

2. mature enough to be eaten or used

   ripe cheese

3. fully developed in mind or body

4. resembling ripe fruit, esp in redness or fullness

   a ripe complexion

5. ready or eager (to undertake or undergo an action)

6. suitable; right or opportune

   the time is not yet ripe

7. mature in judgment or knowledge

8. advanced but healthy (esp in the phrase a ripe old age )

9. slang

   1. complete; thorough

   2. excessive; exorbitant

10. slang,  slightly indecent; risqué

Other Word Forms

• ripely adverb
• ripeness noun
• half-ripe adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripe¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English rīpe; cognate with Dutch rijp, German reif; akin to Old English ripan “to harvest, reap”; reap

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripe¹

Old English rīpe ; related to Old Saxon rīpi , Old High German rīfi , German reif

Idioms and Phrases

• time is ripe

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The economy has shifted away from jobs requiring direct physical labor toward more sedentary jobs owing to computerization and mechanization, making age-based disability standards that assume jobs require physical exertion outdated and ripe for reform.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When you get a job or something, it can take you on a journey that you’re ripe to take.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“History is ripe for the retelling and the retaking,” Nawi said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

At the agricultural company Syngenta, for example, the company has identified “lighthouse” projects in areas like research and development and supply-chain functions that are ripe for an AI overhaul.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Then there is the speculation around other Silicon Valley billionaires, some of whom appear to have been busy buying up chunks of land with underground spaces, ripe for conversion into multi-million pound luxury bunkers.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• mature 
• overdue 
• plump 
• prepared 
• ready