ripple

¹

[rip-uhl]

verb (used without object)

rippled, rippling 

1. (of a liquid surface) to form small waves or undulations, as water agitated by a breeze.

   Synonyms: purl, undulate, wave

2. to flow with a light rise and fall or ruffling of the surface.

3. (of a solid surface) to form or have small undulations, ruffles, or folds.

4. (of sound) to undulate or rise and fall in tone, inflection, or magnitude.

verb (used with object)

rippled, rippling 

1. to form small waves or undulations on; agitate lightly.

   Synonyms: dimple, curl, ruffle

2. to mark as if with ripples; give a wavy form to.

noun

1. a small wave or undulation, as on water.

   Synonyms: ruffle, wavelet

2. any similar movement or appearance; a small undulation or wave, as in hair.

3. a small rapid.

4. Geology.,  ripple mark.

5. a sound, as of water flowing in ripples.

   a ripple of laughter.

ripple

²

[rip-uhl]

noun

1. a toothed or comblike device for removing seeds or capsules from flax, hemp, etc.

verb (used with object)

rippled, rippling 

1. to remove the seeds or capsules from (flax or hemp) with a ripple.

ripple

¹

/ ˈrɪpəl /

noun

1. a slight wave or undulation on the surface of water

2. a small wave or undulation in fabric, hair, etc

3. a sound reminiscent of water flowing quietly in ripples

   a ripple of laughter

4. electronics an oscillation of small amplitude superimposed on a steady value

5. another word for riffle

6. another word for ripple mark

verb

1. (intr) to form ripples or flow with a rippling or undulating motion

2. (tr) to stir up (water) so as to form ripples

3. (tr) to make ripple marks

4. (intr) (of sounds) to rise and fall gently

   her laughter rippled through the air

ripple

²

/ ˈrɪpəl /

noun

1. a special kind of comb designed to separate the seed from the stalks in flax, hemp, or broomcorn

verb

1. (tr) to comb with this tool

Other Word Forms

• rippler noun
• ripplingly adverb
• ripply adjective
• rippling adjective
• rippleless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripple¹

First recorded in 1610–20; origin uncertain

Origin of ripple²

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; cognate with West Frisian ripel, Dutch repel, German Riffel

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripple¹

C17: perhaps from _rip ¹

Origin of ripple²

C14: of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch repelen , Middle High German reffen to ripple

Synonym Study

See wave.

Example Sentences

That will continue to ripple throughout the economy, they added, with more than 30% of overall GDP growth in the U.S. during the first half of the year tied to a rise in software investment.

Read more on MarketWatch

Experts say the ripple effects are being felt across the supply chain, even on businesses, like Mizuba, that were not bringing in shipments using the $800 exemption from tariffs, known as de minimis.

Read more on BBC

Economists and other experts have long repeated the conventional wisdom that the stock market isn’t the economy, meaning that temporary pullbacks on Wall Street don’t always ripple as far as the average American’s pocketbook.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

China’s tightened grip will have ripple effects for the auto industry, as these raw materials are crucial for producing computer chips, brakes, seats and other critical vehicle components, they add.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“If there was a complete lockdown and no rare earth exports, it would have a massive ripple—not just on the U.S. but also others.”

Read more on Barron's

When To Use

What does ripple mean?

A ripple is a small wave, ruffle, or wrinkle on the surface of something, such as water, fabric, clouds, or hair.A raindrop causes ripples in a puddle. A soft gust of wind can cause ripples on the surface of a lake, on the surface of a sheet hanging from a clothesline, or through the tall grasses in the meadow. Ripples aren’t typically breaks in the surface where they appear—they are disturbances that change its shape momentarily.The word can also be applied to waves or wrinkles involving intangible or abstract things, such as ripples of cause and effect. Much like the ripples that result from tossing a stone into a pond, one action causes many other things to happen in a kind of chain reaction known as a ripple effect. Ripple can also refer to a cascading sound, like that of rippling water, as in a ripple of laughter. More specifically, ripple can refer to a swirl of a particular ingredient in ice cream, such as caramel or chocolate. There are even some flavors whose name indicates what the ripple consists of, such as butterscotch ripple.  Ripple is also used as a verb meaning to form or cause such waves, ruffles, or wrinkles, as in The wind rippled the surface of the river. It can also mean to gently flow or rise and fall.Things with ripples in them can be described as rippled or ripply.Example: I like to throw rocks into the still pond and see how far the ripples extend out.