Skip to main content
to rip

to rip

22 7.2
To cut wood along its grain with a saw
  • verb
  • /rɪp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cortar a lo largo de la veta
  • Leone's method is to cut the edge and then rip the strips away.
  • rip a board
  • rip stock
  • rip stock to width

When the boat arrived in Galveston, we basically had to RIP up the floor, like saw through the concrete, saw through the floor, the wood.

Examples

  • "We're completely ripping out and replacing 10.2 miles of track," he says.

    Blog text (27)
  • To create a bookcase, you should first rip the wood panels along the grain using a saw.

  • Try not to rip it open, because it makes a very handy storage case for your tools until you need them again.

  • We had to rip up part of the previous row, pull up the nails, and start over.

    Blog text (4)
  • This wall is non-load bearing, so we can rip it out.

  • There was plenty to do, ripping up the old linoleum in the kitchen and stripping the layers of grease from the stove.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The carpenter carefully ripped the planks to the correct width for the furniture project.

  • He decided to rip the old boards from the deck to replace them with new ones.

Synonyms

to saw
vsto rip
85 1.0

To cut wood using a tool with a thin toothed blade

focuses on wood cut along the grain rather than many different materials
split
vsto rip
5 4.2

Cut lengthwise along the grain, as in wood

uses a blade to cut along the grain rather than breaking wood apart by force
to saw wood
vsto rip
1 2.6

Cut wood with a saw

cuts wood specifically along the grain not in any direction

Idioms

2 9.5

To not care at all about something

1 8.5

Shout at someone in a very angry way and threaten them

Rip van Winkle
  • Literature
1 9.9

A person who is unaware of changes after a long time away

1 9.9

To threaten to hurt someone very badly

rip-snorting mad
  • Informal
9.5

Being very angry and hard to calm

Phrasal Verbs

80 4.5

To pull something away quickly and roughly

to rip off
  • Informal
79 6.3

To steal something quickly without the owner knowing

to rip off
  • Informal
76 6.5

To cheat someone by charging too much money or selling fake goods

68 4.4

To pull something out quickly and with force, often to remove it completely

to rip it up
  • Informal
11 6.7

To tear something into pieces or throw it away and start again

to rip to shreds
  • Informal
10 6.9

Tear something into many pieces or say very bad things about it

8 2.8

To tear something into small pieces

to rip into
  • Informal
4 7.4

To attack someone with strong angry words

1 6.6

Face a difficult or painful situation quickly instead of delaying it

to rip out
  • Informal
1 6.9

To say something loudly and angrily

Compounds

rip-off
  • Informal
31 7.2

A situation where someone charges too much money for something

2 6.0

A strong narrow flow of water moving from the shore out to sea that can pull swimmers away

tide rip
  • Specialized
8.8

A stretch of rough water where water flows meet and swirl

Surface Forms

rip infinitive
ripped past
ripped past participle
ripping present participle
rips third person singular

Etymology

To rip wood (to cut along the grain) comes from the idea of tearing along the wood's natural line, so to rip a board is like pulling it apart along its grain.