rip

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of rending or ripping or splitting something

   An envelope cannot hold its contents if it has a rip.

2. 2
   noun

   an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

   There was a rip in my pants.

3. 3
   verb

   criticize or abuse strongly and violently

   The candidate ripped into their opponent mercilessly.

4. 4
   verb

   tear or be torn violently

   The curtain ripped from top to bottom

5. 5
   verb

   move precipitously or violently

   The tornado ripped along the coast

6. 6
   verb

   To divide or separate the parts of (especially something flimsy, such as paper or fabric), by cutting or tearing; to tear off or out by violence.

   to rip a garment; to rip up a floor

7. 7
   verb

   To tear apart; to rapidly become two parts.

   My shirt ripped when it was caught on a bramble.

8. 8
   verb

   To remove violently or wrongly.

   A child untimely ripped from its parents' arms.

Etymology

From Middle English rippen, from earlier ryppen (“to pluck”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rupjaną, *ruppōną, intensive of *raupijaną, causative of Proto-Indo-European *roub- ~ *reub-, variant of *Hrewp- (“to break”). See also West Frisian rippe, ripje, roppe, ropje (“to rip”), Dutch dialectal rippen, Low German ruppen, German Low German röpen, German rupfen, also Old English rīpan, rīepan (“to plunder”), West Frisian rippe (“to rip, tear”), German raufen (“to rip”); also Albanian rrabe ‘maquis’, possibly Latin rubus (“bramble”). More at reave, rob.