rip
verb (used with object)
to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner.
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rip
1 American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
verb (used with object)
-
rips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ripped,
past participle, past
-
ripping
present participle
-
to cut or tear apart in a rough or vigorous manner.
to rip open a seam; to rip up a sheet.
-
to cut or tear away in a rough or vigorous manner.
to rip bark from a tree.
-
to saw (wood) in the direction of the grain.
-
Digital Technology. to copy (audio or video files from a CD, DVD, or website) to a hard drive or mobile device, typically by extracting the raw data and changing the file format in the process.
Can you rip this CD for me?
verb (used without object)
-
rips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ripped,
past participle, past
-
ripping
present participle
-
to become torn apart or split open.
Cheap cloth rips easily.
-
Informal. to move with violence or great speed.
The sports car ripped along in a cloud of dust and exhaust fumes.
noun
-
a rent made by ripping; tear.
- Synonyms:
- cut, laceration
-
Slang. a cheat, swindle, or theft; ripoff.
The average consumer doesn't realize that the new tax is a rip.
verb phrase
-
rip out to utter angrily, as with an oath or exclamation.
-
rip off
-
to steal or pilfer.
-
to rob or steal from.
-
to swindle, cheat, or exploit; take advantage of.
phony charity appeals that rip off a gullible public.
-
-
rip into to attack physically or verbally; assail.
idioms
rip
2
American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
noun
rip
3
American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
noun
Informal.
-
a dissolute or worthless person.
-
a worthless or worn-out horse.
-
something of little or no value.
Rip
4
American
[rip]
/ rɪp /
noun
RIP
5
American
[ahr-ahy-pee, rip]
/ ˈɑrˈaɪˈpi, rɪp /
Or
R.I.P.
abbreviation
rip
1
British
/ rɪp /
noun
-
something or someone of little or no value
-
an old worn-out horse
-
a dissolute character; reprobate
rip
2
British
/ rɪp /
verb
-
to tear or be torn violently or roughly; split or be rent
-
(tr; foll by off or out) to remove hastily, carelessly, or roughly
they ripped out all the old kitchen units
-
informal (intr) to move violently or precipitously; rush headlong
-
informal to pour violent abuse (on); make a verbal attack (on)
-
(tr) to saw or split (wood) in the direction of the grain
-
informal (tr) computing to copy (music or software) without permission or making any payment
-
to act or speak without restraint
noun
-
the place where something is torn; a tear or split
-
short for ripsaw
rip
3
British
/ rɪp /
noun
RIP
4
British
abbreviation
rip
Scientific
/ rĭp /
-
A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.
-
A rip current.
R.I.P.
Cultural
rip
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
See tear 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ripsimple
-
ripssimple
-
have rippedperfect
-
has rippedperfect
-
am rippingprogressive
-
are rippingprogressive
-
is rippingprogressive
-
have been rippingperfect progressive
-
has been rippingperfect progressive
Past
-
rippedsimple
-
had rippedperfect
-
was rippingprogressive
-
were rippingprogressive
-
had been rippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rip1
First recorded in 1400–50; 1960–65 rip 1 for def. 10; Middle English rippen “to tear out (seams, sutures), rip, rip off”; further origin uncertain; obscurely akin to Frisian rippe, Middle Dutch rippen, reppen; compare dialectal English ripple “to scratch”
Origin of rip2
First recorded in 1765–75; see origin at rip 1, ripple 1
Origin of rip3
First recorded in 1770–80; of uncertain origin; possibly alteration of rep, shortened form of reprobate
Origin of RIP5
From Latin requiēscat (or requiēscant ) in pāce
Explanation
When you rip something, you tear it quickly or forcefully. It's almost always better to rip off a Band-Aid than to peel it off slowly. You can rip a piece of paper in half, or rip a hole in the roof of your tent. When you tear, split, or pull something apart, you rip it. You can also rip figuratively — like when your move to a new city rips you apart from your best friend. A rip off is a bad deal or a swindle, a phrase that's been popular since about 1970, although rip meaning "steal" was used as prison slang much earlier.
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:
Retail trade groups, however, reject the claim that digital tags are designed to manipulate prices to rip off consumers.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
The Guardian tops with Burnham ordering his policy advisers "to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company".
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The National Hurricane Center said the worst of Rachel was over but "hazardous coastal conditions" could persist for days, with the highest waves coinciding with high tides, causing life-threatening surf and rip currents.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
“I’m worried that 66th Place will rip up. Because there’s nothing to stop the water.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
The next day I find an old composition book on my bookshelf and rip out the used pages in the front.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
“It’s almost like you could wake up 30 years later in a Rip Van Winkle dream, and you’re in the same spot.“
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
The L.A. native was the Portland Trail Blazers’ player development coach and the assistant general manager of the team’s G League affiliate Rip City Remix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
With Rip The Script, we've built something broader: a football universe that lives both digitally and in real life.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
PopUp’s trademarked motto is “Grip, Rip, and Dip.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
“I’ll Holy Ghost you, Charles Baker Harris! Rip the sheets off my best bed, will you? Cut holes in ’em, will you?
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
On a wall are the words "RIP 2UZZI", said locally to have been the nickname of Jakub Matusiak, who lived one street away.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Messages on its walls included: "RIP The Boys", "Never Be Forgotten RIP The Lads", and the initials of those in the car with "Rest easy boys".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
RIP: Despite a Season 2 renewal earlier this year, Disney just announced “Wonder Man” has been canceled.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
RIP, Sam Neill: The New Zealand actor died unexpectedly today at 78.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
I’ve tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
If so, there could be no one around to put an R.I.P. on humanity’s gravestone.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2024
Current judge Motsi Mabuse posted a black-and-white picture of Goodman on her Instagram story, alongside the letters "R.I.P."
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2023
Among the drawings is a sidewalk memorial showing the image of a Black boy on a poster marked R.I.P. attached to an iron fence and surrounded by flowers.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 15, 2022
“Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P. He showed us how to reach for the stars.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2022
“On the wall of P.S. 101’s schoolyard. The back wall. The one that faces 111th Street. Freddy would hang there all night. I want it to say, ‘Freddy the best of 109th Street, R.I.P.’
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
Stewart smudged her face with gray makeup, cut a few rips in her least-loved jeans, sliced up a gleaming white cardigan and held up a clipboard that read, “I Am Hungry Help Me!!”
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
Long a lethal baseliner—no one rips it better—he’s added angles, texture and touch to make his game less predictable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
"It rips your soul out," he told Reuters news agency.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The episode’s signature moment comes in a soliloquy from Gen Z hero Ava Daniels, in which she rips into the idea that A.I. is inevitable and talks about how we can and should fight it.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
She rips the stick from his teeth and trots down the dry bed, her tall ears pointed front and her nose high.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Nine British nationals were among the 15 people who died when fire ripped through the hillside village of Bédar, in the province of Almería in south-eastern Spain, on 9 July.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
“Those events have really ripped the veneer off the death penalty in this country,” said attorney Natasha Minsker of the California Anti-Death Penalty Coalition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
But he is staying despite the fact that the facade of his building was ripped open by a guided aerial bomb.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
The U.S. economy ripped off its fastest rate of growth in a year, amped up by the boom in artificial intelligence and strong spending by wealthier Americans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Magnificent,” Luc said, as I ripped my headset off and set it on the table.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
And unlike us mere mortals, they aren’t afflicted by pesky qualms about their reputation or career, or that queasy feeling in the gut produced by years of social conditioning against lying or ripping people off.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
What followed was Arafat singled-handedly ripping through the lower order.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
“High oil prices and yields ripping puts valuations under pressure, so that earnings growth is key,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026
A social media influencer accused of ripping off wealthy suitors is competent to stand trial in Los Angeles County on criminal charges that she seduced and stole from rich men, a judge announced Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
I ask as fast as I can, like ripping off a Band-Aid.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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