rib

noun

/rɪb/

Idioms

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[countable] any of the curved bones that are connected to the spine and surround the chest
- a broken/bruised/cracked rib
- Stop poking me in the ribs!
see also floating rib, ribcageTopics Bodyc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- broken
- bruised
- cracked
- …
verb + rib
- break
- bruise
- crack
- …
rib + noun
- cage
- injury
preposition
- against the/your ribs
- in the/your ribs
See full entry
[uncountable, countable] a piece of meat with one or more bones from the ribs of an animal see also prime rib, short ribs, spare ribTopics Foodc2
[countable] a curved piece of wood, metal or plastic that forms the frame of a boat, roof, etc. and makes it stronger
- a roof with rib vaulting
[uncountable, countable] a way of knitting (= making clothing using wool and two long needles) that produces a pattern of straight lines up and down in which some are raised higher than others
- a rib cotton sweater

Word OriginOld English rib, ribb (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch rib(be) and German Rippe. The sense ‘tease’ was originally a US slang usage meaning ‘to fool, dupe’ (1930s).

Idioms

dig somebody in the ribs

to push your finger or your elbow into somebody’s side, especially to attract their attention

rib

verb

/rɪb/

(old-fashioned, informal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they rib	/rɪb/ /rɪb/
he / she / it ribs	/rɪbz/ /rɪbz/
past simple ribbed	/rɪbd/ /rɪbd/
past participle ribbed	/rɪbd/ /rɪbd/
-ing form ribbing	/ˈrɪbɪŋ/ /ˈrɪbɪŋ/

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rib somebody (about/over something) to laugh at somebody and make jokes about them, but in a friendly way synonym tease
- He used to rib her mercilessly about her accent.
Word OriginOld English rib, ribb (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch rib(be) and German Rippe. The sense ‘tease’ was originally a US slang usage meaning ‘to fool, dupe’ (1930s).