1
: an act or instance of stealing : theft
also
: a financial exploitation
The so-called deal turned out to be a rip-off.
2
: a usually cheap exploitive imitation
a rip-off of a designer bag
ripped off; ripping off; rips off
1
2
: to copy or imitate blatantly or unscrupulously
The film ripped off a better one made years ago.
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
Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 13 Nov. 2025
With an appeal filed this week, Warner Bros TV is making another incision to stop the legal exhumation of The Pitt, and whether or not claims the Noah Wyle-starring Emmy-winning medical drama is a rip-off of ER will go to trial.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Freeman previously hit out against AI in June 2024, thanks his fans on X for calling out examples of AI ripping off Freeman’s voice for advertisements the actor has not signed off on to promote.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rip-off
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Noun
The movie starts off with a clever rip-off of nasty crypto bros in Brooklyn and expands to scenes in Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, France and South Africa.
—Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 13 Nov. 2025
With an appeal filed this week, Warner Bros TV is making another incision to stop the legal exhumation of The Pitt, and whether or not claims the Noah Wyle-starring Emmy-winning medical drama is a rip-off of ER will go to trial.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
In fact the whole experience was designed to rip off the cosmetics giant’s unmistakable branding.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Freeman previously hit out against AI in June 2024, thanks his fans on X for calling out examples of AI ripping off Freeman’s voice for advertisements the actor has not signed off on to promote.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 13 Nov. 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 26 Nov. 2025.
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