# ropes

Pronunciation: say "ROHPS" US /ɹoʊps/, UK /ɹəʊps/

## Noun

1. Plural of rope. — plural of rope
   - Simple: Plural of rope. Use this form when there is more than one rope.
   - _The climbers checked all of their ropes before starting the ascent._
   - _Thick mooring ropes held the ferry against the dock._
2. The basic skills and procedures involved in performing a particular job or activity.
   - Simple: The basic skills you need to do a job well.
   - _A senior nurse showed the new hires the ropes during their first shift._
   - _Once he knew the ropes, the warehouse work felt almost effortless._

## Verb

3. Third-person singular simple present of rope. — third-person singular simple present indicative of rope
   - Simple: Third-person singular simple present of rope. Use this form with he, she, or it.
   - _The rancher ropes each steer before the branding begins._
   - _Whenever a storm threatens, the dockhand ropes the canoes together._

## Origin

In the sense of skills, this is now a figurative use that originally referred to literal ropes. The phrase "he knows the ropes," written on a seaman's discharge, meant that he was inexperienced and familiar only with a ship's principal ropes.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ropes (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).