Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive & intransitive verb To make or become ripe or riper; mature.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To grow ripe; come to maturity, as grain or fruit: used by extension of the maturing of anything, as of a boil.
- To become fit for some particular use by lying or resting.
- To approach or come to completeness or perfection; come to a state of fitness or readiness; be prepared or made ready: as, the project is ripening for execution.
- Synonyms See
mature , a. - To mature; make ripe, as grain or fruit.
- To bring to maturity, perfection, or completion; develop to a desired or desirable state.
- To make fit or ready for use.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To grow ripe; to become mature, as grain, fruit, flowers, and the like.
- intransitive verb To approach or come to perfection.
- transitive verb To cause to mature; to make ripe.
- transitive verb To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb intransitive to grow
ripe ; to becomemature , as inbotany : grain, fruit, flowers, and the like; as, grapes ripen in the sun. - verb intransitive To approach or come to perfection.
- verb transitive To cause to mature; to make ripe; as, the warm days ripened the corn.
- verb transitive To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection; as, to ripen the
judgment .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb grow ripe
- verb cause to ripen or develop fully
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word ripen.
Examples
-
"Though I have no illusions in the direction of expecting the fruit of general peace to ripen in a single night, I am nevertheless convinced that the fruit _has begun to ripen_, and that it is now only a question of holding out whether we are to obtain a general honourable peace or not.
Im Weltkriege. English Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria Czernin von und zu Chudenitz 1902
-
Wolfeboro is just about at the northern fringe of the climate where peaches will ripen, that is during favorable years in favored locations.
-
But there is a kind of passivity, willingness to let experiences accumulate and sink in and ripen, which is an essential of development.
democracy and Education : an Introduction to the Philosophy of Education 1916
-
But there is a kind of passivity, willingness to let experiences accumulate and sink in and ripen, which is an essential of development.
Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education John Dewey 1905
-
She found in gathering the fruits of the earth, that, to ripen is to absorb sunshine; which ripples out to you responsively at the gentlest touch.
-
She found in gathering the fruits of the earth, that, to ripen is to absorb sunshine; which ripples out to you responsively at the gentlest touch.
-
She found in gathering the fruits of the earth, that, to ripen is to absorb sunshine; which ripples out to you responsively at the gentlest touch.
The Market Woman 1870
-
The name of this favourite fruit is said to be derived from an ancient custom of putting straw beneath the fruit when it began to ripen, which is very useful to keep it moist and clean.
The Book of Household Management Isabella Mary 1861
-
The name of this favourite fruit is said to be derived from an ancient custom of putting straw beneath the fruit when it began to ripen, which is very useful to keep it moist and clean.
The Book of Household Management Isabella Mary 1861
-
Or, if Republicans filibuster and force Reid to file cloture (which requires two days to "ripen" into an actual vote) demand their 30 hours of post-cloture debate, it will pass Saturday.
Wonkbook: FinReg to pass; Fed to sit; Reid's climate deal; Dems lose rec 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.