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rip(7) (iou)



rip verb1. Infl. -pp-. LME.
[Origin unkn. Cf. REAP verb2, RIP noun5.]
I. verb trans.
Cut, pull, or tear (a thing) quickly or forcibly away from something. Freq. foll. by off, from, out. LME.
G. Orwell Posters were ripped from the walls, banners torn to shreds. G. Greene Summers..was ripping out the skirting-boards in the..dining room. R. Ingalls He got out the cigarettes, ripped off the cellophane.
b. Steal. slang. E20.
Telegraph (Brisbane) Some have ripped millions of dollars from Medibank.
c. Defeat overwhelmingly, esp. in a sporting event. US slang. L20.
Arizona Daily Star The Tucson..All-Stars ripped Prescott for 15 hits.
Cut, slash, or tear (a thing) apart or open, esp. with a sharp instrument. Freq. foll. by apart, open, through, up, etc. M16.
K. Waterhouse I..ripped the piece of paper into four. P. Mortimer I ripped open the mauve envelope, tearing it carelessly with my thumb. T. Keneally Ripping their clothes and tearing their flesh on the barbs.
b. Split or cleave (timber); saw (wood) in the direction of the grain. M16.
c. Strip (a building or roof) of tiles or slates and laths, esp. in the process of repair or renovation. L16.
d. Take out or cut away by quarrying etc.; clear of surface-soil. E19.
e. Pull the rip-cord of (a parachute or balloon). E20.
Disclose, make known; search into, examine. Now chiefly fig. (foll. by up), reopen (a discussion, esp. an unwelcome one), revive the memory of (esp. a grievance or a discreditable action). L16.
Hazlitt We do not want to rip up old grievances. M. E. Braddon Why do you come..to rip up the secrets of the past?
Form or make (esp. a hole) by tearing or slashing, esp. violently or forcibly. Also foll. by up. L19.
A. Djoleto Mensa had managed to rip a hole in the wire fence. B. Hines She nipped this skin and pulled, ripping a hole in it. Miami Herald The guy who ripped ABC for its big-name..extravaganzas.
Annoy intensely. Chiefly in wouldn't it rip you. Austral. slang. M20.
Attack verbally; criticize severely. N. Amer. colloq. L20.
II. verb intrans.
a. Progress, move along, by cutting or slashing. rare. L18.
R. Bloomfield The sweeping Scythe now rips along.
b. Come violently apart; split, tear. M19.
R. H. Dana The sail ripped from head to foot. New Yorker The banner..had blown down in the wind and ripped.
a. Use strong language; swear, curse. Now dial. L18.
J. Adams Your secretary will rip about this measure.
b. Break or burst out angrily. M19.
R. L. Stevenson 'You may leave..' he added, his temper ripping out.
Rush along with violence or great speed. Freq. in let rip below. Orig. US. M19.
G. B. Shaw Rip ahead, old son. On Board International The speed sailors..were ripping up and down at Ma'alea, taking advantage of the flat waters.
Phrases, & with adverbs in specialized senses: let rip colloq. (a) act or proceed without restraint; speak violently; (b) not check the speed of or interfere with (freq. in let her rip). rip and tear US & dial. rage, rave; go raging about. rip into unleash a verbal attack on, criticize sharply, castigate. rip off (a) colloq. steal (from); embezzle; exploit financially; cheat, defraud; rob; deceive; (b) colloq. copy; plagiarize; (c) US slang have sexual intercourse with; esp. rape. rip out utter (esp. an oath or curse) abruptly or violently; (see also senses 1, 8b above). rip up reopen (a wound or sore) roughly; (see also senses 2, 3, 4 above).
Comb.: rip-and-tear adjective (US) of or pertaining to crude and violent criminal methods; rip-off adjective & noun (colloq.) (a) (designating or pertaining to) a fraud, swindle, or instance of esp. financial exploitation; (b) (designating or pertaining to) an imitation or plagiarism, esp. one intended to exploit a current public interest; ripsaw noun & verb (a) noun a coarse saw for cutting wood along the grain; (b) verb trans. cut (wood) with a ripsaw; rip-stop adjective (of nylon clothing or equipment) woven in such a way that a tear will not spread; rip track N. Amer. a section of railway line used as a site for repairs to carriages.
ripped adjective (a) that has been ripped; (b) N. Amer. slang intoxicated by a drug; (c) slang (foll. by off) robbed; exploited; stolen; (d) slang having the muscles showing prominently: E19.