1
as in parody
a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect
the movie is a rib of the "dramatic love story" that was so popular in the 1950s
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2
as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter
began to lose his sense of humor after being the butt of his friends' ribs once too often
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rib
Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025
Eat prime rib at North Beach landmark Original Joe’s.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Starr Bowenbank, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025
It’s designed with a deep V-neckline, six-button front, and ribbed trim.
—Jamie Allison Sanders, People.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rib
Noun
The brunch lineup offers prime rib, shredded potato pie, zucchini gratin and a carving station.
—Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025
Eat prime rib at North Beach landmark Original Joe’s.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Verb
In the first picture, she's seen wearing a brown ribbed cardigan and a pair of jeans, with shoulder length hair parted on the side.
—Starr Bowenbank, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025
It’s designed with a deep V-neckline, six-button front, and ribbed trim.
—Jamie Allison Sanders, People.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rib
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rib
Noun
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Imagination was key to the films that Hess made after Napoleon Dynamite: the soulful Nacho Libre, in which Jack Black as a novice monk and Lucha Libre fan gave a fully rounded characterization, and the ingenious fantasy-fiction parody Gentlemen Broncos.—
Armond White,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2025
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Those include the parodies of commercials and public access programs that begin episodes, giving us introductions to Judaism and the French-Canadian mobsters and a particular brand of coffee in ways that, like so much in the series, feel fleetingly amusing rather than coherently realized.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Trump sued Maher in 2013 for $5 million after the comedian made a crass joke about his mother and an orangutan.—
Steff Danielle Thomas,
The Hill,
19 Apr. 2025
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While Instagram and TikTok chase global virality, Fizz leans hard into hyper relevance: the inside joke, the anonymous confession, the econ final everyone just bombed.—
Ian Shepherd,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Fans of the finger food, made with a tortilla-crumb breading, can look forward to having it year-round, as Taco Bell teased plans to make nuggets part of the permanent menu by 2026.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2025
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The trailer also teases a subplot involving a pregnancy between Sue Storm and Reed Richards, possibly hinting at the birth of their son, Franklin Richards, a character with universe-altering powers in Marvel lore.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Plot details for The Naked Gun are being kept under wraps, but like the first three movies, viewers can expect a cop spoof filled with ridiculous sight gags.—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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Beginning in the ‘30s and really hitting their stride in the glorious color animation of the ‘40s and ‘50s, the Warner Bros. cartoons have certainly stretched the bounds of what’s possible in 8-11 minutes, from full opera spoofs to fourth-wall-breaking experiments.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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That sort of showboating elicits laughs from TV audiences, partly because today's younger shoppers are spending less on pricey goods and more on luxury experiences.—
Marco della Cava,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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Sharing good laughs goes a long way to strengthening connections and relationships.—
Liz Guthridge,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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After a day on the slopes at Lost Trail, make your way to the tiny town of Jackson, which will make Philipsburg and Anaconda seem like large metropolitan areas (kidding, kinda).—
Will McGough,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Huang may have been kidding, but Nvidia spent much of its event detailing just how much better its Blackwell chips are.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The story works less as a Hollywood satire than as a survival thriller.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
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Scottish actor Capaldi, the twelfth Doctor in the Doctor Who universe (2013–2017), won several awards, including a British Academy Television Award, for his performance as Malcolm Tucker in the beloved satire The Thick of It (2005–2012).—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Based on previous research, archeologists know that Mongolians in this period were nomadic pastoralists, rotating herds of ruminants like sheep, goats, and yaks between pastures.—
Joshua Rapp Learn,
Discover Magazine,
25 June 2024
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The three-year-old female yak was initially misidentified as a bison, a follow-up Facebook post stated.—
Graeme Taskerud,
The Denver Post,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rib.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rib. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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