rope
Americannoun
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ropes
plural
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a strong, thick line or cord, commonly one composed of twisted or braided strands of hemp, flax, or the like, or of wire or other material.
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a lasso.
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ropes,
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the cords used to enclose a prize ring or other space.
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Informal. the operations of a business or the details of any undertaking.
The new employee didn't take long to learn the ropes.
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a hangman's noose, halter, or cord.
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the sentence or punishment of death by hanging.
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a quantity of material or a number of things twisted or strung together in the form of a cord.
a rope of tobacco.
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a stringy, viscid, or glutinous formation in a liquid.
ropes of slime.
verb (used with object)
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ropes,
present (3rd person singular)
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roped,
past participle, past
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roping
present participle
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to tie, bind, or fasten with a rope.
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to enclose, partition, or mark off with a rope or ropes (often followed byoff ).
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to catch with a lasso; lasso.
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Nautical. to reinforce (a sail or awning) with a boltrope.
verb (used without object)
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ropes,
present (3rd person singular)
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roped,
past participle, past
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roping
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
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give someone enough rope, to allow a person complete freedom to continue their misdeeds in hope that retribution will follow.
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at the end of one's rope, at the end of one's endurance or means; at the limit.
With all her savings gone and bills piling up, she was at the end of her rope.
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on the ropes,
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Boxing. in a defenseless position, as leaning against the ropes to keep from falling.
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Informal. in a desperate or hopeless position; close to defeat or failure.
By repeatedly undercutting his prices, his competitors soon had him on the ropes.
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noun
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a fairly thick cord made of twisted and intertwined hemp or other fibres or of wire or other strong material
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( as modifier )
a rope bridge
a rope ladder
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a row of objects fastened or united to form a line
a rope of pearls
a rope of onions
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a quantity of material twisted or wound in the form of a cord
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anything in the form of a filament or strand, esp something viscous or glutinous
a rope of slime
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a rope, noose, or halter used for hanging
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death by hanging, strangling, etc
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to allow someone to accomplish his own downfall by his own foolish acts
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to have a thorough understanding of a particular sphere of activity
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to be experienced in the ways of the world
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boxing driven against the ropes enclosing the ring by an opponent's attack
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in a defenceless or hopeless position
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verb
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(tr) to bind or fasten with or as if with a rope
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to enclose or divide by means of a rope
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(intr) to become extended in a long filament or thread
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mountaineering to tie (climbers) together with a rope
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ropesimple
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ropessimple
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have ropedperfect
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has ropedperfect
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am ropingprogressive
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are ropingprogressive
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is ropingprogressive
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have been ropingperfect progressive
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has been ropingperfect progressive
Past
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ropedsimple
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had ropedperfect
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was ropingprogressive
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were ropingprogressive
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had been ropingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rope
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun rop(e), rap(e), Old English rāp; cognate with Dutch reep, German Reif; verb derivative of the noun
Explanation
A rope is made by twisting strands of fiber together into a single, sturdy length. Use a rope to make a swing, tie a hog, or keep people out of your tree house. Ropes are handy on sailboats for tying up sails; you also use ropes for mountain climbing, lassoing a steer, raising a curtain on a theater stage, and doing aerial tricks in the circus. As a verb, rope means "catch with a rope," or colloquially, to convince someone to do something: "She'll try to rope me into helping with the bake sale." When you show someone "the ropes," you explain the way things are done.
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:
This is like skipping rope without the rope.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Even the winning six delivered a tantalising wait, hanging in the air, teasing the chance of a catch, but it just crept over the rope to spark Super Giants' celebrations.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The exercises also involved helicopters from which personnel descended by rope.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
“He was ushering me into a brotherhood,” Jeon-Gi reflects on the time when Ben chose him to help make a rope swing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
I got up, took the halter rope in my hand, and started back to the store.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
How Wall Street sussed out that the hedge fund Situational Awareness was on the ropes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
They work remotely and came together for a few days of activities that included painting, pedal boating and navigating a ropes course.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Later it took further beatings as they worked out how the 8,000-pound horse could be dragged over dunes and log rollers by actors with ropes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The villagers are shouting as they haul on the ropes to pull the net in from the sea.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Just as the sky was fading from black to purple, my hands and arms were almost back to normal and they slipped out of the ropes.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Antigoni's family, including her mother and grandparents, make an appearance in the music video for Jalla - but she also roped in a few other big cameos.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
In “Rooster,” Steve Carell plays Greg Russo, a divorced bestselling author roped into accepting a writer’s residency at the university where his daughter teaches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
Colbert took Cranston on a trip down memory lane, revisiting all the wild stunts the actor would get roped into during the beloved comedy’s initial run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
It’s worth noting that it was the American officials at the treaty’s drafting sessions who insisted on Article 6, so that the U.S. military would not get roped in to fight Europe’s colonial wars.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2026
It would not be good news to learn that we are all roped together intellectually, droning away at some featureless, genetically driven collective work, building something so immense that we can never see the outlines.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
For example, trick roping performed by horse riders that don’t actually lasso animals or choreographed riding to music are not included in the ban.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
The team was assembled from across the company, roping in workers who specialized in materials, process and assembly, among others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
But she will not be roping in her mum, Liz, to help out despite the former world 10,000m champion being desperate to step in and lend a hand.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
Beyond roping off a large section of the store for e-commerce fulfillment, the company plans separate access sites for in-store shoppers, delivery drivers, and trucks, according to the proposal.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
He had never heard it called Texas roping before; he knew it as steer roping, because they used old stringy Mexican steers rather than more expensive cows or calves.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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.
