rip

rip¹ [rıp] v past tense and past participle ripped present participle ripping

[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Probably from Flemish rippen 'to tear off roughly']

1.) [I and T]

to tear something or be torn quickly and violently

▪ Her clothes had all been ripped.

▪ The sails ripped under the force of the wind.

▪ Impatiently, Sue ripped the letter open .

2.) [T always + adverb/preposition]

to remove something quickly and violently, using your hands

rip sth out/off/away/down

▪ Gilly ripped out a sheet of paper from her notebook.

▪ The buttons had been ripped off.

3.) rip sth/sb to shreds

a) to destroy something or damage it badly by tearing it in many places

▪ Jill's kitten is ripping her sofa to shreds.

b) informal to strongly criticize someone, or criticize their opinions, remarks, behaviour etc

▪ I expected to have my argument ripped to shreds.

4.) let rip informal

to speak or behave violently or emotionally

▪ Fran took a slow deep breath, then let rip, yelling and shouting at him.

5.) let it/her rip informal

to make a car, boat etc go as fast as it can

▪ Put your foot on the gas and let her rip!

rip apart [rip sth<=>apart] phr v

to tear or pull something to pieces

▪ He was ripped apart by savage beasts in the forest.

rip off [rip sb/sth<=>off] phr v

1.) to charge someone too much money for something

= ↑overcharge

▪ The agency really ripped us off.

2.) to steal something

▪ Somebody had come in and ripped off the TV and stereo.

3.) to take words, ideas etc from someone else's work and use them in your own work as if they were your own ideas

= ↑plagiarize

→↑rip-off

rip through [rip through sth] phr v

to move through a place quickly and with violent force

▪ A wave of bombings ripped through the capital's business district.

rip up [rip sth<=>up] phr v

to tear something into pieces

▪ Sue ripped his photo up into tiny bits.

rip ²

rip² n

a long tear or cut

▪ a green leather jacket with a rip in the sleeve