ripe

adjective

ˈrīp 

riper; ripest

1

: fully grown and developed : mature

ripe fruit

ripe wheat

2

: having mature knowledge, understanding, or judgment

3

: of advanced years : late

a ripe old age

4

a

: suitable, appropriate

The time was ripe for the attempt.

b

: fully prepared : ready

The colonies were ripe for revolution.

a system that was ripe for abuse

specifically, of a legal action : ready for judicial resolution because the injury is certain and not hypothetical

5

a

: brought by aging to full flavor or the best state : mellow

ripe cheese

b

: smelly, stinking

Those old sneakers are pretty ripe.

6

: ruddy, plump, or full like ripened fruit

a ripe figure

7

: indecent

ripe language

ripely adverb

ripeness noun

Synonyms of ripe

• matured
• mature

Examples of ripe in a Sentence

The apples are nearly ripe.

the clothes of the field hands were sweaty and ripe after a hard day's work

Recent Examples on the Web

To a novice taster, sipping out of a plastic Mets carafe, the wine smelled like dry grass and very ripe blackberries. — Arthur Holland Michel, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Remove ripe or overripe fruit from your kitchen as quickly as possible by eating, refrigerating, freezing, or composting it. — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2026

Sweet, ripe fruit tastes sugary, but doesn’t cause blood sugar to quickly spike the way high-sugar foods such as candy, cookies, or soda do. — Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 25 Sep. 2026

Just like Swift’s own Rhode Island house—which was the basis for her song The Last Great American Dynasty—her husband’s new 21,000-square-foot Tudor-style dwelling is chock full of stories ripe for the telling. — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 22 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English rīpe; akin to Old English rīpan, reopan to reap

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ripe

• ripe for abuse
• ripe old age
• ripe with

Rhymes for ripe

• gripe
• hype
• lipe
• pipe
• sipe
• skype
• snipe
• stipe
• stripe
• strype
• swipe
• tripe

Kids Definition

ripe

adjective

ˈrīp 

riper; ripest

1

: fully grown and developed

a ripe tomato

2

: having mature knowledge, understanding, or judgment

3

: ready entry 1 sense 1

ripe for action

4

: brought to just the right state

ripely adverb

ripeness noun

Legal Definition

ripe

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or being a claim for relief that is ready for judicial resolution because the injury is certain to occur and is not merely hypothetical or speculative compare moot

2

: ready and appropriate for disclosure because reasonably determined to be valid and not required to be kept secret for business reasons

—used of corporate information

ripeness noun