rip-off

1 of 2

noun

1
: an act or instance of stealing : theft
also : a financial exploitation
2
: a usually cheap exploitive imitation

rip off

2 of 2

verb

ripped off; ripping off; rips off

transitive verb

1
a
: rob
also : cheat, defraud
b
: steal
2
: to copy or imitate blatantly or unscrupulously
3
: to perform, achieve, or score quickly or easily
ripped off 10 straight points

Examples of rip-off in a Sentence

Noun a daring burglary of the art museum that resulted in one of the greatest rip-offs in history Verb the teens ripped off the store where they had been working for the summer the thief ripped off some jewelry as soon as no one was looking
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
Fede Álvarez understands that there’s a thin line between an homage, a follow-up and a rip-off. Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 15 Aug. 2024 Latest from Michael Hiltzik Column: Federal regulators step up their campaign against predatory payday lenders and their rip-offs Column: The CrowdStrike meltdown reminds us that the hacking problem doesn’t come only from outside Column: Who elected Elon Musk our arbiter of social norms? Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
Verb
Jacobs ripped off a 37-yard run in the first half when Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan cleared a hole and Tucker Kraft delivered a terrific downfield block. Rob Reischel, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 Filmmakers are still ripping off Rob Bottin's gruesomely inventive special effects, the excess of which contrasts with the tightly wound paranoia of the story. Katie Rife, EW.com, 29 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for rip-off 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1969, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1967, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of rip-off was in 1967

Dictionary Entries Near rip-off

Cite this Entry

“Rip-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rip-off. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

rip-off

1 of 2 noun
ˈrip-ˌȯf
: an act or an instance of ripping off

rip off

2 of 2 verb
ˈrip-ˈȯf
1
: rob sense 1a
also : to cheat someone : defraud
2

More from Merriam-Webster on rip-off

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