time is ripe

Idioms  

1. This is the right moment for something, as in The time is ripe for a revival of that play. Shakespeare used this term (and may have originated it) in 1 Henry IV (1:3): “Letters shall direct your course when time is ripe.”

---

Example Sentences

Lumumba's relatives conversely maintained that the time is ripe for a long-overdue legal reckoning.

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

“The time is ripe for us to know whether we are at the intellectual center of the universe.”

From Salon • Jan. 25, 2025

“The time is ripe to go for a wage increase,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2024

But many Indian sociologists and demographers say the time is ripe to update outdated data sets, as policymakers seek to better target welfare and health programs and state governments expand affirmative action.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 22, 2024

Scientific progress builds step by step, and as the example of Darwin and Wallace shows, when the time is ripe, two or more individuals may make the next step independently of one another.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin