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Showing results for rip-roaring. Search instead for rip-roarious.
Synonyms

rip-roaring

American  
[rip-rawr-ing, -rohr-] / ˈrɪpˌrɔr ɪŋ, -ˌroʊr- /

adjective

Informal.

  1. boisterously wild and exciting; riotous.

    Have a rip-roaring good time.
rip-roaring British  

adjective

  1. informal characterized by excitement, intensity, or boisterous behaviour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rip-roaring

1825–35, rip 1 + roaring, alteration of rip-roarious, modeled on uproarious

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

With Springsteen taking the microphone, the audience was treated to an unforgettable version of The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” followed by Steve Earle’s rip-roaring take on “Roadhouse Blues.”

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026

A teensy stretch of trading weakness this year—a pause in rip-roaring gains, really—has left the valuation looking ordinary, despite a profit outlook that has no equal in history.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

Both were popular novelists of rip-roaring historical fiction, both were politically active Tories, and both had the Borderlands at the heart of their works and lives.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

Firms that had banner years would lay siege to hotel ballrooms, trumpeting their good fortune with rip-roaring excesses more suited to an Indian wedding.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

“Intelligence work is not a series of rip-roaring adventures, a string of tricks or an entertaining trip abroad,” Abel cautioned.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.