ripe
/rʌɪp
/adjective
1(Of fruit or grain) developed to the point of readiness for harvesting and eating: a ripe tomato...
- Outside in the back garden, he could see Mrs Galloway, who was their cook, picking ripe fruit from the strawberry patches nearby the greenhouse, collecting them in her apron.
- I proceeded to pick the ripe fruits and vegetables.
- The vendors took great pride in displaying and selling their wares; the ripe fruits adding colour and the voices of vendors adding din to the already noisy bazaar.
Synonyms
mature, ripened, fully developed, full grown, ready to eat, soft, lush, juicy, tender;
luscious, sweet, full-flavoured, mellow
1.1(Of a cheese or wine) fully matured: a ripe Brie...
- I give them each some of my real buttermilk, soured just right, or a chunk of my ripe cheese.
- A generation of consumers accustomed to ripe, sweeter fleshy wines from the new world will be astonished at the sheer opulence of these wines.
- This is a gorgeous, perfectly ripe and totally consistent Cabernet Sauvignon.
1.2(Of a smell or flavour) rich, intense, or pungent: rich, ripe flavours emanate from this wine...
- The two riders hauled their animals to a halt at the very edge of the riverbed, smelling the carnage before they saw it: a ripe stench hanging on the breeze.
2Having arrived at the fitting stage or time for a particular action or purpose): land ripe for development they felt that the time was ripe for a new approach...
- The time is ripe for a new focus on winning a share of the shopper that will have a shelf life well beyond the cold, hard realities of an economic slowdown.
- The time was ripe for change, hence the creation of the Academy in 1980.
- He felt his stomach growling, and decided the time was ripe for some food.
Synonyms
ready, fit, suitable, right
opportune, advantageous, favourable, auspicious, propitious, promising, heaven-sent, good, right, fortunate, benign, providential, felicitous, well timed, convenient, expedient, suitable, appropriate, apt, fitting
archaic seasonable
2.1 (ripe with) Full of: a population ripe with discontent...
- George's poetry is ripe with sexual symbolism.
- And most importantly, they are ripe with greed.
- But the future is ripe with possibilities, like live television or an entire network with programming made especially for your cell phone.
3 [attributive] (Of a person’s age) advanced: she lived to a ripe old age...
- At the ripe age of 43 and after [more than] 17 years at the same job, I have no financial security; I live paycheck to paycheck.
- He was small and gangly for the ripe age of sixteen, unlike Christopher, who was two-years his senior and certainly looked the role of a strong handsome young man.
- At the ripe age of 39, this exuberant Brazilian choreographer has rapidly become a major player in the cultural landscape of her native country.
Synonyms
advanced, hoary, venerable, old
4(Of a female fish or insect) ready to lay eggs or spawn: ripe females will stop and spawn with one or more males
5 informal (Of a person’s language) beyond the bounds of propriety; coarse: I think my language may have been a little ripe outside the church
Derivatives
ripely
- Positive, ripely flavoured, with a hint of wax and a long, sustained, dry aftertaste makes this the perfect wine for those who like grace at their table.
- They edited her writings and touched up her image to fit the ripely emotional world of 19 th-century piety.
ripeness
/ noun ...- We grow only the best-tasting varieties and we pick and sell them at the perfect ripeness or maturity.
- A mango in Thailand isn't just a mango - there are many varieties, which mature at different times of year, so there is always some variety at its peak of ripeness.
- The skill of the winemaker in these circumstances is to blend all the different regions, vineyards and levels of ripeness into a house style.
Origin
Old English rīpe, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch rijp and German reif.
Rhymes
- honeycomb ground
- honeycomb limestone
- honeycomb moth
- honeycomb pattern
- honeycomb quartz
- honeycomb quilt
- honeycomb radiator
- honeycomb ringworm
- honeycomb rock
- honeycomb sandwich
- honeycomb sponge
- honeycomb stitch
- honeycomb stone
- honeycomb tripe
- honeycomb wall
- honeycomb work
- honeycreeper
- Honeycrisp
- honey crop
- honeydew
- honey-dewed
- honeydewed
- honeydew melon
- honeydew tobacco
- honey drop