ripper
Americannoun
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rippers
plural
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a person or thing that rips.
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Also ripper bill, ripper act a legislative bill or act for taking powers of appointment to and removal from office away from the usual holders of these powers and conferring them unrestrictedly on a chief executive, as a governor or mayor, or on a board of officials.
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a double-ripper.
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a killer who dispatches and often mutilates victims with a knife or similar weapon.
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Mining. a hooklike tool, attached to earth-moving machinery, for tearing away ore, rock, etc.
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Chiefly British Slang. something especially strong, fine, or good of its kind.
noun
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a person who rips
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a murderer who dissects or mutilates his victims' bodies
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informal a fine or excellent person or thing
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ripper
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:
“Any good news at all and there are so many out there way off sides to a ripper of a rally,” Detrick said.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 17, 2026
Captain Jos Buttler was bowled by a ripper from wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav while Moeen Ali nicked off on 15 to become Shami's third victim.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2023
The lead lasted for 47 seconds, as Pietrangelo’s ripper from the blue line found its way through traffic and into the net, once again tying the game and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2022
Excellent - ripper - and apologies if you, the reader, knew all this.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2022
He was a ripper, and I adored that.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
"You think bodice rippers, contemporary things, fantasy. It covers a broad spectrum. So it's not maybe as niche as you think initially."
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
They were accompanied by vocal virtuosos Lucius and blues-rock rippers Judith Hill and Eric Krasno, each fixtures in the local music community trying to rebuild itself in the wake of the Eaton fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
The 10-song set of vintage Foos anthems is their finest album in years, the stadium-ready rippers carrying a renewed sense of urgency following Hawkins’ death last year.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2023
But we would suggest that you make some room in your playlist amid the dragon-fired bodice rippers for Jackson’s masterful work.
From Fox News ● May 24, 2019
By Jove!" he said, "they're rippers for looks, and they should fly a bit, I'm thinking.
From The Way of a Man by Emerson Hough
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.
