ripper

[ rip-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that rips. rip.
2. Also ripper bill, ripper act. a legislative bill or act for taking powers of appointment to and removal from office away from the usual holders of these powers and conferring them unrestrictedly on a chief executive, as a governor or mayor, or on a board of officials.
3. a double-ripper.
4. a killer who dispatches and often mutilates victims with a knife or similar weapon.
5. Mining. a hooklike tool, attached to earth-moving machinery, for tearing away ore, rock, etc.
6. Chiefly British Slang. something especially strong, fine, or good of its kind.

ripper

/ ˈrɪpə /

noun

1. a person who rips
2. a murderer who dissects or mutilates his victims' bodies
3. informal.
   a fine or excellent person or thing

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripper¹

First recorded in 1605–15; rip ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

He has gone to lengths to appear hale, skiing with a professional snowboarder and with an Olympic gold medalist who called him a “ripper” as they raced down the mountain.

From New York Times

While Pangilinan still recommends what she calls “foundational” romance books — what our grandmothers would’ve called “bodice rippers” — she now cautions readers to enjoy them with a critical eye warning of “dubious consent.”

From Seattle Times

They all blur the lines between women’s and literary-leaning commercial fiction, departing from the fantasy spaces of bodice rippers and misty moors to depict a world that looks a lot more like, well, our own.

From Washington Post

Three overs later, Latham missed a sweep to be lbw to Root and when Leach produced a ripper that turned past Will Young's defensive stroke, New Zealand were three down still 59 adrift.

From BBC

They dropped spiky steel “net rippers” onto the ocean floor to tear up trawling nets, lobbed smoke bombs onto boat decks, and threw rancid butter to taint whale meat.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• bayonet
• blade
• cutter
• dagger
• machete
• scalpel
• sickle
• skewer
• sword