# rip

/ˈɹɪp/ (US) · /ɹˈɪp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/rip
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to tear

verb · CEFR A2

to pull something apart quickly or with force, especially paper or cloth.

For teachers: to divide or separate parts of a flimsy material by pulling or cutting with force.

- He had to rip the old wallpaper off the walls before he could start painting.
- The wind was so powerful that it began to rip the canvas awning from its metal frame.

Usage: Transitive or intransitive.

### 2. to copy digital data

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal · Slang

to copy music or video from a CD or DVD onto a computer.

For teachers: to extract digital content from a physical medium or stream to a local storage device.

- I spent the whole afternoon trying to rip my old CDs to my laptop.
- The software allows users to rip audio tracks from high-definition discs without losing any sound quality.

Usage: Transitive; often used with 'from'.

Teaching tip: Though less common now due to streaming, this remains the standard term for digitising physical media.

### 3. to criticize

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal · American English · Slang

to criticize someone or something very strongly.

For teachers: to mock or criticize someone harshly and aggressively.

- The critics really ripped into the director's new movie.
- The late-night host spent his entire monologue ripping on the senator's latest public gaffe.

Usage: Usually used with the prepositions 'on' or 'into'.

### 4. a tear

noun · CEFR A2

a long hole in something that has been torn.

For teachers: a rent or opening made by tearing fabric, paper, or similar material.

- There was a small rip in the sleeve of his jacket.
- She noticed a significant rip in the upholstery that would require professional repair before the sofa could be sold.

Usage: Countable.

### 5. water current

noun · CEFR B2

a strong, dangerous current of water that pulls away from the shore.

For teachers: a strong surface current flowing outwards from a shore, often dangerous to swimmers.

- The lifeguard warned the swimmers to stay away from the rip near the rocks.
- The rip was so powerful that even experienced surfers struggled to paddle back toward the beach.

Usage: Often called a 'rip current' in technical contexts.

Teaching tip: Commonly used in coastal regions of Australia, New Zealand, and the US.

## Examples

- I found a high-quality rip of that old album online.
- The collector spent the weekend creating a digital rip of his entire vinyl collection to preserve the audio quality.
- While the official digital release was delayed, a low-bitrate rip of the film began circulating on various forums, much to the frustration of the production studio.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.