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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rip-off
Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
More people walk away from bad deals, money sucks, and rip-offs.
—Stav Ziv, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, the Lions keep ripping off wins.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rip-off
Noun
Over the past 20 years of Black List darlings and Edgar Wright rip-offs, the American film industry has established a new archetype of cinema filled with quippy antiheroes, gory allegories for domestic strife, and character actors rattling off reference humor.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
More people walk away from bad deals, money sucks, and rip-offs.
—Stav Ziv, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco tried to get in between them to break up the altercation, but Branch ripped off Smith-Schuster’s helmet as players from both teams started to get involved in the scrum.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, the Lions keep ripping off wins.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rip-off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rip-off
Noun
-
The thieves were wearing construction worker uniforms and hoods over their heads, said an investigator from the Banditry Repression Brigade, a special police unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that investigates robberies and art theft.—
Kevin Shalvey,
ABC News,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Retail theft spiked 55% between the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2019, according to data from the Council for Criminal Justice.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Louvre was robbed The museum is closed while police investigate.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Directed by Sara Talab, this evocative period drama unfolds in 1960s Jeddah, where a young musician’s life is upended when illness robs him of his hearing.—
Essie Assibu,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
More recently, two pieces of 16th-century armor were returned to the Louvre Museum almost 40 years after they were stolen.—
Caitlin Danaher,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
-
San Diego police arrested a person suspected of stealing a fire engine in south San Diego and driving it up Interstate 5 to Fallbrook Saturday evening, officials said.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Guys were continually getting above pucks and taking hard strides back, not cheating for offense.—
Brad Elliott Schlossman,
Twin Cities,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Regarding the subject of cheating and whether students might use AI to write essays, edX told Fortune that GradyAI has cheating detection built into its algorithms that can be turned on or off depending on the application.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In a world where people have grown increasingly accustomed to finding love by swiping right or left, this little Irish town and its festival offers something different.—
Bernadette Keith,
Travel + Leisure,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Give it a quick shake to mix the milky layers, swipe it on, and watch rough, uneven skin do a 180.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In a sector already squeezed by rising land prices, material costs, and labor shortages, those weeks of manual quantification represent millions of dollars in overhead that never swing a hammer.—
Jon Stojan,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Made mostly of muscle without a bone in their bodies, these wonderful weirdos can squeeze into spaces scarcely bigger than their eyeballs.—
Kate Siber,
Outside,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Pieces from Stock are often plucked by stylists for celebrity editorials for Vanity Fair, Esquire and GQ.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Oct. 2025
-
This faux Dunhill Fir is designed to look and feel like a tree plucked straight off the lot, without the single-season lifespan or mess of shedding needles.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
While everyone else hustles about, the sloth knows that in slowness there is safety and success.—
Kate Siber,
Outside,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The pair must hustle their way out of trouble involving a temperamental drug boss and a whimsical cop investigating a celebrity murder.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rip-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rip-off. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share