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rib

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rib¹

  • /ɹɪb/

Rhymes with -ɪb

Where it comes from

From Middle English rib, ribbe, from Old English ribb (“rib”), from Proto-West Germanic *ribi, from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”).

Cognate with Dutch rib (“rib”), Norwegian ribbe (“sparerib”), Norwegian ribben (“rib”), Low German ribbe (“rib”), German Rippe (“rib”), Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), Serbo-Croatian rèbro (“rib”).

(wife or woman): In reference to the creation of Eve from Adam's rib in the Bible.

noun ribs

  1. Any of a series of long curved bones occurring in 12 pairs in humans and other animals and extending from the spine to or toward the sternum. On an early winter afternoon, clear but not cold, when the vegetable world was a weird multitude of skeletons through whose ribs the sun shone freely, a gleaming landau came to a pause on the crest of a hill in Wessex.
  2. broadly A part or piece, similar to a rib, and serving to shape or support something. a broken rib on the umbrella
  3. A cut of meat enclosing one or more rib bones.
  4. Any of several curved members attached to a ship's keel and extending upward and outward to form the framework of the hull.
  5. Any of several transverse pieces that provide an aircraft wing with shape and strength.
  6. A long, narrow, usually arched member projecting from the surface of a structure, especially such a member separating the webs of a vault
  7. A strip of metal running along the top of the barrel that serves as a sighting plane.
  8. A raised ridge in knitted material or in cloth.
  9. The main, or any of the prominent veins of a leaf.
  10. A teasing joke.
  11. Ireland, colloquial A single strand of hair.
  12. A stalk of celery.
  13. archaic, humorous, literary A wife or woman. 'Near to it was the portrait of his rib, Dame Middleton.'

verb ribs · ribbing · ribbed

  1. To shape, support, or provide something with a rib or ribs.
  2. To tease or make fun of someone in a good-natured way. He always gets ribbed for his outrageous shirts.
  3. To enclose, as if with ribs, and protect; to shut in. It [lead] were too gross To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave.
  4. transitive To leave strips of undisturbed ground between the furrows in ploughing (land).

rib²

  • /ɹɪb/

Rhymes with -ɪb

Where it comes from

From Middle English ribbe, from Old English ribbe (“hound's-tongue”).

noun ribs

  1. Hound's-tongue (Cynoglossum officinale).
  2. Costmary (Tanacetum balsamita).
  3. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale).

RIB³

noun RIBs

  1. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of rigid inflatable boat (“a lightweight inflatable boat with a rigid hull”).

    Similar: rigid inflatable boat, rigid-hulled inflatable boat, rhibbie, ribbie, RHIB

  2. Internet routing information base

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: costa, laugh at, poke fun, ridicule, blackguard, guy, jest at, make fun, thoracic, bone, vein, nerve, thoracoplasty, ibr, fish, midrib

Translations

Every language

noun curved bone

Españolcostilla
한국어갈비 galbi, 늑골 neukgol
日本語肋骨 rokkotsu
中文肋骨 lèigǔ
हिन्दीपसली paslī
Portuguêscostela
Françaiscôte
DeutschRippe
Italianocostola, costa
Ελληνικάπλευρό plevró, παΐδι paḯdi, πλευρά plevrá
Românăcoastă
Русскийребро́ rebró
Tiếng Việtxương sườn, sườn
العربيةضِلْع ḍilʕ
עבריתצלע tsela

noun part similar to rib

Españolcostilla
DeutschRippe, Strebe
Italianocostone

noun cut of meat

Españolcostillar
日本語肋肉 baraniku
Portuguêscostela
Françaiscôtelette, côte
DeutschRippchen
Italianospuntatura, costoletta
Ελληνικάπαϊδάκι païdáki
Русскийрёбрышки rjóbryški

noun nautical: part of a ship’s framework

Españolcostilla, cuaderna
日本語あばら骨 abarabone
Portuguêscostela, caverna
DeutschSpant
Italianomadiere
Ελληνικάστραβόξυλο stravóxylo, νομείς nomeís
Русскийребро́ rebró

noun shaping and supporting member in an aircraft wing

Españolcostilla
Françaisnervure
DeutschRippe
Italianonervatura
Ελληνικάνεύρο névro

noun architecture: projecting member

DeutschGewölberippe, Rippe
Italianonervatura

noun botany: prominent vein in a leaf

Españolcostilla
Italianonervatura
Ελληνικάνεύρωση névrosi

noun teasing joke

Ελληνικάπείραγμα peíragma

noun stalk of celery

DeutschStängel, Stange
Italianogambo

noun archaic, literary, humorous: wife woman

Françaisépouse, femme, moitié

verb to tease

Françaischarrier
Ελληνικάπειράζω peirázo
Русскийдразни́ть draznítʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"rib." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rib. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

rib. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rib

Chicago

"rib." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rib.

BibTeX
@misc{rib_2026,
  title = {rib},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rib},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}