ripen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to make or become ripe.
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to bring or come to maturity, the proper condition, etc.; mature.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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ripenernoun
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overripenverb
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half-ripenedadjective
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underripenedadjective
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unripenedadjective
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unripeningadjective
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well-ripenedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ripensimple
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ripenssimple
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have ripenedperfect
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has ripenedperfect
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am ripeningprogressive
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are ripeningprogressive
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is ripeningprogressive
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have been ripeningperfect progressive
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has been ripeningperfect progressive
Past
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ripenedsimple
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had ripenedperfect
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was ripeningprogressive
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were ripeningprogressive
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had been ripeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ripen
Explanation
When fruit becomes ripe and ready to eat, it ripens. Tomatoes will ripen after you pick them, becoming darker red and more juicy. You can use ripen to talk about the maturing process of all fruits, and some vegetables — apples, peppers, and corn all need to ripen before they're at the perfect, delicious state for being eaten. Figuratively, you can also talk about people this way: "She is really starting to ripen as an actor!" Before ripen was coined around 1560, the verb was ripe, as in, "When the avocados ripe, I'll make guacamole."
Vocabulary lists containing ripen
Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 1
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"In Response to Executive Order 9066"
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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:
Under the law, claims can go to federal court if a government agency denies them or doesn’t make a decision within six months, meaning the ones McCloskey dropped off could soon ripen for litigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
And like every such show, it can be expected to ripen with age, if age comes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
It makes our bananas ripen very fast and go to waste,” Ms Nkhana says.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024
Ideally, he'd plant a variety that could resist the coffee berry borer, a beetle that feasts on coffee cherries, and that would ripen with greater uniformity.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2024
We haggled with a handcart vendor for two big bunches of bananas, one ready to eat, the other still green, so it would ripen in a day or two.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
“The Gilded Age” has always plied high-toned melodrama as its chief asset, but Season 3 ripens the starched formality of previous episodes into succulence.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025
For most Scandinavian vineyards, solaris is the grape of choice - an aromatic, hybrid variety that's well-adapted to colder climes, ripens easily, and is more disease resistant, allowing vineyards to avoid spraying pesticides.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2024
There is a sense of stasis to the aptly named two-hander, which never ripens from a situation into a story.
From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2024
Death is part of the natural scheme of things, he muses, comparing it with “an olive that ripens and falls. / Praising its mother, thanking the tree it grew on.”
From National Geographic ● Nov. 16, 2023
So the God of the Vine was born of fire and nursed by rain, the hard burning heat that ripens the grapes and the water that keeps the plant alive.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Maintaining storage temperatures near 12°C may allow mangoes to be harvested earlier, transported over longer distances, and ripened closer to their final markets while minimizing spoilage and quality loss.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
Once they have ripened adequately, you can store them in the refrigerator for another week, but always serve them at room temperature.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
"These events have ripened one of the most iconic and important companies in the UK for a takeover by foreign investors," he added.
From BBC ● May 28, 2024
“The way the fruit ripened, I was thankful. But it was just too much,” Cirone said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
Slowly the river shrank as the grain sprouted, grew, and covered the black with emerald; continued to shrink under the ever more powerful sun as the emerald ripened into gold.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
While convenient, these warmer conditions speed up respiration and ripening, causing fruit to soften and deteriorate more rapidly.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
Risk and ripening at Apple, Tojo’s destructive plan, a father’s formidable presence and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Grapefruit trees in the UK typically fruit once a year, with ripening taking up to 12 months after flowering in late spring or summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025
“The circumstances are ripening in a way they never have before.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2024
“They’re ripening very quickly,” answered Milo, “and we don’t have a minute to lose. Just think how happy the men back at the squadron will be when they get these bananas.”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
