ribs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of rib.

   The doctor pressed gently along his ribs to check for fractures.

   Slow-smoked ribs are the specialty of that roadside diner.

   Note

   A plural that comes naturally, because ribs come in series: twelve pairs in the human chest, a row of curved members rising from a ship's keel, transverse pieces shaping an aircraft wing, arched bands dividing a vault. At the table it names a cut of meat with the bones still in. The same spelling also serves the teasing verb, so "the ribs" and "he ribs" share a form but not a meaning.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of rib.

   The coach good-naturedly ribs any player who shows up wearing the wrong jersey.

   Whenever he forgets a name, his wife ribs him about his fading memory.

   Note

   In its good-natured, teasing meaning, the verb takes the person teased as its object and the subject of the joke after about: she ribs him about his memory. It can also be literal. A builder ribs a hull by giving it a framework of ribs, and in ploughing it means leaving strips of undisturbed ground between the furrows.

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