1
: an act or instance of stealing : theft
also
: a financial exploitation
2
: a usually cheap exploitive imitation
ripped off; ripping off; rips off
2
: to copy or imitate blatantly or unscrupulously
3
: to perform, achieve, or score quickly or easily
ripped off 10 straight points
Synonyms
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
Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2024
Enter Valentine’s Day, a generic, cookie-cutter rip-off filled to the brim with A-list stars and Oscar winners.
—Janey Tracey, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2024
The Pooh slasher film took home trophies for worst film, worst director, worst screenplay, worst screen couple and worst remake, rip-off or sequel.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
The list of authors affected is long, and the rip-offs have blossomed in variety.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Does Diddy's blatant Batman rip-off violate SAG-AFTRA's moratorium on franchise costumes for union members?
—EW.com, 1 Nov. 2023
She was convinced that the pristine shoes donated to her nonprofit were rip-offs.
—Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023
In most cases, 3D was a rip-off — a carny-barker way for studios to jack up ticket prices.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Dec. 2023
The emphasis on political identity — Larson’s RBF, Parris’s anger, and Vellani’s naïveté — recalls the multiracial multiverse gamesmanship in Everything Everywhere All at Once, which was also a Hollywood rip-off of Johnnie To’s female fighters in the Hong Kong film The Heroic Trio.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023
Chantelle Lee, TIME, 12 May 2024
However, Dallas ripped off a 15-2 run, with the last 11 Mavericks points during that stretch scored by Tim Hardaway Jr.
—Field Level Media, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 May 2024
Instead of getting ripped off, Wright was sold something much more potent.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 8 May 2024
After tonight, Sweeney will get to rip off that wig and go right back to her regularly scheduled long blonde hair.
—Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, 7 May 2024
The tornado had ripped off the roof of one house before spitting it back out onto the street.
—CBS News, 7 May 2024
But Post is about to change the game, with a pastry product ripped off from Kellogg’s’ own research.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 May 2024
But thanks to years of fan neglect and an ownership strategy that blatantly rips off the 1989 classic movie Major League, the game was only played in front of a crowd of hundreds (laughably announced as 4,679, half of which seemed to be the kids who sang the national anthem).
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024
The good news is, Jokic is ripping off the most painful bandage in the first round.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 25 Apr. 2024
Noun
This car—which appears in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League—feels like a cheap rip-off with its garish armor and exposed machine guns.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2024
Enter Valentine’s Day, a generic, cookie-cutter rip-off filled to the brim with A-list stars and Oscar winners.
—Janey Tracey, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2024
The Pooh slasher film took home trophies for worst film, worst director, worst screenplay, worst screen couple and worst remake, rip-off or sequel.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
The list of authors affected is long, and the rip-offs have blossomed in variety.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Does Diddy's blatant Batman rip-off violate SAG-AFTRA's moratorium on franchise costumes for union members?
—EW.com, 1 Nov. 2023
She was convinced that the pristine shoes donated to her nonprofit were rip-offs.
—Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023
In most cases, 3D was a rip-off — a carny-barker way for studios to jack up ticket prices.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Dec. 2023
The emphasis on political identity — Larson’s RBF, Parris’s anger, and Vellani’s naïveté — recalls the multiracial multiverse gamesmanship in Everything Everywhere All at Once, which was also a Hollywood rip-off of Johnnie To’s female fighters in the Hong Kong film The Heroic Trio.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023
Verb
Wickham is perhaps best known for being the choreographer behind the winning performance in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, when the British pop group Bucks Fizz ripped off their skirts on stage (and were wearing shorter skirts underneath).
—Chantelle Lee, TIME, 12 May 2024
However, Dallas ripped off a 15-2 run, with the last 11 Mavericks points during that stretch scored by Tim Hardaway Jr.
—Field Level Media, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 May 2024
Instead of getting ripped off, Wright was sold something much more potent.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 8 May 2024
After tonight, Sweeney will get to rip off that wig and go right back to her regularly scheduled long blonde hair.
—Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, 7 May 2024
The tornado had ripped off the roof of one house before spitting it back out onto the street.
—CBS News, 7 May 2024
But Post is about to change the game, with a pastry product ripped off from Kellogg’s’ own research.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 May 2024
But thanks to years of fan neglect and an ownership strategy that blatantly rips off the 1989 classic movie Major League, the game was only played in front of a crowd of hundreds (laughably announced as 4,679, half of which seemed to be the kids who sang the national anthem).
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024
The good news is, Jokic is ripping off the most painful bandage in the first round.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 25 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rip-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rip-off
Cite this Entry
“Rip-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rip-off. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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