1
: an act or instance of stealing : theft
also
: a financial exploitation
2
: a usually cheap exploitive imitation
ripped off; ripping off; rips off
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
Rich Juzwiak, Time, 25 June 2025
Great White Year: 1981 Director: Enzo G. Castellari Runtime: 1h 28m
Few Jaws rip-offs are quite as bald-faced in their theft as Great White, an Italian production directed by Enzo G. Castellari.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 21 June 2025
Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
The platform is also notorious for quietly disenfranchising artists, by letting people rip off their original work to feed those Frankensteins.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for rip-off
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Bachelor rip-offs like early Bravo series Boy Meets Boy and Logo’s Finding Prince Charming have, predictably, focused on men, as has Netflix’s Japanese dating show The Boyfriend.
—Rich Juzwiak, Time, 25 June 2025
Great White Year: 1981 Director: Enzo G. Castellari Runtime: 1h 28m
Few Jaws rip-offs are quite as bald-faced in their theft as Great White, an Italian production directed by Enzo G. Castellari.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 21 June 2025
Verb
Much of the discussion about generative AI in TV and film centers on the potential to undermine creativity and jobs, and rip off intellectual property.
—Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
The platform is also notorious for quietly disenfranchising artists, by letting people rip off their original work to feed those Frankensteins.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for rip-off
Cite this Entry
“Rip-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rip-off. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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