rip

verb · noun · RIP interjection

RIP/ɹɪp/

As an interjectionahr-y-PEE

Verbrips, ripping, ripped

Noun pluralrips, RIPs

37 meanings of rip

Practice

1
tear fastverbtransitive
To tear something, or to become torn, quickly or roughly. Also to pull something off or out by tearing.
She ripped the letter into tiny pieces.
Be careful not to rip your new jeans on the fence.
UsageOften used with up, off or out: rip up a carpet or rip out a page.
Similartear, wrench, yank, pull, strip
2
a splitnouncountable
A tear or split in paper, cloth, or something similar.
There's a rip in the back of my shirt.
He taped over the rip in the map.
Similartear, split
3
remove by forceverbtransitive
To take someone or something away by force or in a wrong way.
Nobody wants to rip families from their homes.
The thief ripped the bag from her hand.
UsageSay rip someone from their home.
Similartear, wrench, snatch
4
mourning a deathinterjection · RIPinitialism
Short for requiescat in pace, or rest in peace: said about someone who has died.
RIP, Grandpa. We will miss you every day.
The card on the flowers said simply: RIP, old friend.
UsagePut RIP before the name.
Note
5
race throughverbfigurativelyintransitive
To move or go through something very fast and with great force.
Strong winds can rip across the island in winter.
A fire ripped through the old warehouse last night.
Similartear, sweep, race, rush, hurtle
Note
6
steal someone's workverbslangtransitive
To steal something, such as someone else's code or graphics.
Please don't rip my code without giving me credit.
Another group ripped our graphics and used them in their demo.
Similarsteal, copy, lift, plagiarize
Note
7
unfair pricenounslangcountable
Something that costs much more than it should.
Ten dollars for a bottle of water? What a rip!
The concert tickets were a total rip.
UsageOften What a rip! The longer word rip-off is more common.
Similarswindle
Oppositebargain
8
copy dataverbtransitive
To copy music, video, or other data from a CD, DVD, or the internet onto a computer or device.
Can you rip this DVD so I can watch it on my tablet?
I ripped all my old CDs onto my laptop.
UsageYou rip a CD to your computer.
Similarcopy
Note
9
sea currentnounAustraliaNew Zealandcountable
A strong current of water that flows away from the beach and can pull swimmers out to sea.
Dad got caught in a rip and had to wave for help.
Always swim between the flags so you stay clear of the rips.
UsageMany people say rip current.
Similarriptide
Note
10
copied artnounslangcountable
Something stolen or copied, such as art or music someone copied and called their own.
Everyone could tell his drawing was a rip of a famous album cover.
The group got laughed at because half their songs were rips.
Similarcopy, knockoff
Note
11
criticizeverbslangUStransitive
To make fun of or criticize someone or something.
My brothers always rip on me for my haircut.
The coach ripped the team after the loss.
UsageRip on is teasing. Rip into is attacking.
Similarslam, blast, roast, criticize
Oppositepraise
12
be awesomeverbslangintransitive
To be very good or exciting, or to do something very well, especially surfing.
These tacos rip, so you really have to try one.
Her new song really rips.
Similarrock, slap, shred

Less common meanings

13
it's overinterjection · RIPcolloquialironic
Used jokingly to say goodbye to something lost, to show mild disappointment, or to say someone is in trouble.
Our favorite pizza place closed last week. RIP.
RIP my summer vacation, because school starts tomorrow.
UsageSay RIP or rip to something that has ended.
Note
14
copied filenounslangcountable
Music or other data copied from a CD, DVD, or online stream onto a computer or device.
My rip of that old CD sounds a little fuzzy.
He made rips of all his dad's old CDs so he could play them on his phone.
UsageSay a CD rip.
Similarcopy
Note
15
cut along grainverbtransitive
To cut a piece of wood along its grain, not across it.
Dad used the table saw to rip the long board down the middle.
She ripped the plank into two thin strips for the shelf.
Oppositecrosscut
Note
16
wood sawnounabbreviationellipsis
Short for ripsaw: a saw that cuts wood along the grain.
Grandpa used his old rip to cut the long board along the grain.
A rip has bigger teeth than a crosscut saw.
Note
17
take a hitverbslangtransitive
To take a shot of alcohol or a hit of a drug, such as marijuana.
His friends kept telling him to rip shots, but he said no.
She ripped the bong once and coughed for a whole minute.
UsageOften rip shots or rip a bong.
Similardown, smoke
18
one puffnounslangcountable
One hit of marijuana, the amount someone takes at one time.
He took one rip from the pipe and coughed for a whole minute.
She took one rip from the bong and passed it on.
Similarhit, toke, drag
19
rough river waternouncountableplural
A part of a river or stream with broken, bumpy water, usually gentler than rapids.
Our canoe bumped over the rips, but nobody fell in.
The canoe bounced through a small rip just below the bridge.
Note
20
a fartnounslangcountable
A fart, the gas that comes out of the body from behind.
A loud rip came from under the blanket, and everyone held their noses.
Whose rip was that? It smells terrible in here!
Similarfart
21
fart loudlyverbslangtransitive
To fart loudly, so other people can hear it.
My little brother ripped one in the car, and we all held our noses.
Don't rip one in here. The windows don't open!
UsageSay rip one. Politely, say break wind.
22
rude jokeinterjection · RIPderogatorymildly vulgarinitialism
Short for rest in piss: a rude way to mock someone who died or had bad luck.
Note
23
nounslang
A funny or embarrassing moment, or something someone does that goes against what they say.
24
nouncolloquial
A slide up through the notes that leads into the main note being played.
25
verbarchaic
To dig up and bring out something hidden, often from the past.
They ripped up all that had been done from the beginning of the rebellion.
Can we date this quote?, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England
26
nounUK
A bad mark a student gets for weak work.
27
nounslangCanada
A drive or ride in a vehicle just for fun.
28
noundated
A weak, useless old horse.
29
noundated
A bad man who lives a wild, immoral life.
Miss Compton, in 'Other People's Worries,' asks rhetorically whether a young rip was not in the Blank divorce case.
1922, The Saturday Review
30
noundialectalScotland
A handful of grain still on its stalks.
31
proper noun
A boy's name that has its roots in Dutch.
32
proper noun
A short name for someone called Ripley.
33
interjectionrare
Short for rest in power, said about someone who has died.
34
proper noun
A standard way for computer networks to share the best paths for data, short for Routing Information Protocol.
35
noun
A process in some fungi that changes both copies of a repeated piece of DNA.
36
nounUS
A cut in someone's pay.
37
noun
A kind of poison protein that stops cells from making proteins.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of rip apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–3, 5–12, 14–21

From Middle English rippen, from an older word meaning "to pluck". It is related to the words reave and rob.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Rip derives from Middle English rippen. en.wiktionary.org
The earlier word meant “to pluck”. en.wiktionary.org
Rip is etymologically related to reave and rob. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 4, 13, 22

Short for the Latin requiescat in pace, "rest in peace".