ripple

¹ American  

[rip-uhl] / ˈrɪp əl /

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.

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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 American  

[rip-uhl] / ˈrɪp əl /

noun

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

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verb (used with object)

rippled, rippling

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

ripple ¹ British  

/ 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

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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 British  

/ ˈrɪpəl /

noun

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

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verb

1. (tr) to comb with this tool

Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

See wave.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

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

Explanation

A ripple is a small wave on the surface of something, such as a ripple that forms a ring around the spot where you threw a pebble into the pond. Ripple can also be a verb. For example, you might see raindrops ripple on top of a puddle. Ripple was first used in the 1670s to describe something that causes a ruffled surface, sort of like how water seems to momentarily gain texture as it's stirred. Ripple later came to describe a very small wave, but you've probably heard of the "ripple effect" in which tiny waves spread, setting off more and more waves.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ripple rippled rippling

The Federal Reserve’s move to raise short-term rates by a quarter percentage point Wednesday is poised to ripple through the banking system and debt markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

It goes without saying that the ripple effects this will have on shipping and agriculture, and thus food prices, will be profound.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

The Fed has held rates steady since January, choosing to wait to gauge the effects of energy price shocks and to let the tariffs' effects on prices ripple through the economy.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

A hawkish BoJ that commits to further rate hikes, and perhaps more importantly, at a faster pace, could lead to the Japanese yen strengthening further, which would likely ripple across global markets.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

A ripple of stifled laughter went around the room, but I kept my spine ramrod straight, my eyes dead ahead.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Recent calls from artificial-intelligence leaders to slow the technology’s development have rippled through the stock market — and Wall Street’s early reactions may be misguided.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

The emotion has rippled through her inner circle.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

No other decision rippled out over so many seasons or had as much power to shape the trajectory of the team.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

As the team's bus pulled away from the airport, flags rippled above the crowd and supporters surged alongside the vehicle until it disappeared from view.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

They shimmered and rippled, and when I looked closer, I realized that the threads were fragments of stories—actual lines from tales I vaguely remembered—spun into golden silk.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

It was based on the profile picture of the couple’s shared Facebook account, but Walters had swapped out palm trees for three Christian crosses and the American flag rippling in the breeze.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

A major clinical-trial failure last week is rippling across biopharma stocks on Tuesday morning, showing yet again how risky it is to invest in drug development.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

The abrupt loss of Haitian workers is rippling through South Florida businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

This misperception carries profound consequences and is currently rippling through our world, eroding trust, deepening isolation and creating a social environment in which empathy is swiftly becoming an atrophied muscle in desperate need of exercise.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

Stuart jumped for the halyards, and the jib and the forestaysail came rippling down.

From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White