ripper
Americannoun
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Also ripper bill, ripper 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.
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a double-ripper.
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a killer who dispatches and often mutilates victims with a knife or similar weapon.
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Mining. a hooklike tool, attached to earth-moving machinery, for tearing away ore, rock, etc.
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Chiefly British Slang. something especially strong, fine, or good of its kind.
noun
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a person who rips
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a murderer who dissects or mutilates his victims' bodies
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informal a fine or excellent person or thing
Etymology
Origin of ripper
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.
When I offered to help, she raised an eyebrow—she had no idea I could sew—but handed me a coat, a diamond choker, a seam ripper, and a needle.
From Literature
"Congratulations, 10 fifties and finally a hundred. You little ripper mate, have a beauty and enjoy it."
From BBC
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
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
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.
