Link Centre Dictionary

ripe

UK/ɹaɪp/ US/ˈraɪp/ fairly common

adjective

1.

fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used

  • “ripe peaches”
  • “full-bodies mature wines”
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2.

fully prepared or eager

  • “the colonists were ripe for revolution”
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3.

most suitable or right for a particular purpose

  • “a good time to plant tomatoes”
  • “the right time to act”
  • “the time is ripe for great sociological changes”
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4.

at the highest point of development especially in judgment or knowledge

  • “a ripe mind”
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5.

far along in time

  • “a man of advanced age”
  • “advanced in years”
  • “a ripe old age”
  • “the ripe age of 90”
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Origin

From Middle English ripe, rype, from Old English rīpe (“ripe, mature”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpī, from Proto-Germanic *rīpijaz, *rīpiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”). Cognate with West Frisian ryp (“ripe”), Dutch rijp (“ripe”), German reif (“ripe”). Related to reap.

Phrases

  • like a ripe plum
  • ripe for the picking
  • ripe for the plucking
  • ripe old age
  • time is ripe

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.