1
as in to rob
to remove valuables from (a place) unlawfully
the teens ripped off the store where they had been working for the summer
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to steal
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
the thief ripped off some jewelry as soon as no one was looking
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
an investigation revealed that a whole slew of suppliers had been ripping off the defense department
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rip-off
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
On the surface, Çiftlik Bank—Turkish for Farm Bank—was little more than a FarmVille rip-off; the functionality for tending to digital crops and livestock was lifted more or less straight from their competitor.
—Moisés Naím, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 1 Mar. 2026
Cunningham's third foul — in which the junior seemingly got in a good position to deflect a pass to Woolfolk in the second half's opening minutes — drew the ire of Texas coach Vic Schaefer, who ripped off his suit jacket in protest.
—Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rip-off
Noun
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
On the surface, Çiftlik Bank—Turkish for Farm Bank—was little more than a FarmVille rip-off; the functionality for tending to digital crops and livestock was lifted more or less straight from their competitor.
—Moisés Naím, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
Trailing 65-62 with less than three minutes left in the second half, Fayetteville State ripped off eight unanswered points for a 70-65 lead with 38 seconds remaining.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 1 Mar. 2026
Cunningham's third foul — in which the junior seemingly got in a good position to deflect a pass to Woolfolk in the second half's opening minutes — drew the ire of Texas coach Vic Schaefer, who ripped off his suit jacket in protest.
—Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rip-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rip-off
Noun
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The Gucci store alone was the site of 13 thefts.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, highlighting online and physical markets that engage in duping shoppers and intellectual property theft—and some familiar names have made the list.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office said the jury also found true that Brasser robbed Starzynski.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
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The point of this is, we were robbed of an NBA player named Harvey Knuckles.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Nikita Casap, 18, shot his mother and stepfather, stole $14,000, and fled the state before arrest in Kansas weeks later.—
Todd Richmond,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Learning from losing Anthony Edwards is stealing the superpowers of whoever defeats him.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There is no need for Dems to cheat and deprive voters of their own choice.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
9 Mar. 2026
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Caregivers may be tempted to let kids win or even cheat to avoid meltdowns and tantrums.—
Stephanie Ganz,
Parents,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But apps, as many have discovered, can be quite frustrating in practice, with all the tapping and swiping through multiple screens.—
Diana Budds,
Architectural Digest,
3 Mar. 2026
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Blame an increase in digital technology, algorithms encouraging people to keep swiping onto the next thing, and increasingly blurry boundaries between work and personal time.—
Natalia V. Osipova,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This technical pivot would allow nations to squeeze every profitable drop from their own land with surgical precision, bypassing the geopolitical chaos of distant chokepoints and securing a future defined by Decentralized Techno-Resource Sovereignty.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
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When residents are this squeezed, City Hall’s predictable response has been to charge us more.—
Bradley Schnell,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Carrel and company are all stellar and worth crowing about but plucking out a few side stories might well make this a smoother, more tonally consistent show.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
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When not plucking away at a keyboard, Madison teaches yoga and mountain bikes with her two Australian shepherds, Cholla and Poppy, through Missoula's Rattlesnake Wilderness.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Early in the second period, just after Greaves got caught out of the net while playing a puck to his right, Provorov hustled to the other side of the net and sprawled across the ice, blocking a shot by Florida’s Tomas Nosek that would have tied the score at 1.—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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In games like Tuesday, when that deep postseason run seems realistic, UCLA pops the ball around on offense and communicates and hustles to overcome its deficiencies on defense.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rip-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rip-off. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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