ripple
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ripple¹
- /ˈɹɪp(ə)l/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɪpəl
Where it comes from
From an alteration of rimple.
noun ripples
- A moving disturbance, or undulation, in the surface of a fluid. I dropped a small stone into the pond and watched the ripples spread.
- One of a series of corrugations in flat surface. The ebbing tide had left ripples in the sand.
- A sound similar to that of undulating water.
- A style of ice cream in which flavors have been coarsely blended together. I enjoy fudge ripple ice cream, but I especially like to dig through the carton to get at the ripple part and eat only that.
- A small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal.
- A small spreading change, impact, or effect produced by a larger or more consequential action. Investments in research, deployment and scaling existing technologies are the initial ripples that will have to build to a groundswell of further action.
verb ripples · rippling · rippled
-
To move like the undulating surface of a body of water; to undulate.
Similar: ruffle
- To propagate like a moving wave. These problems were complicated by a foreign exchange crunch which rippled through the economy in 1961-1962, […]
- To make a sound as of water running gently over a rough bottom, or the breaking of ripples on the shore.
- To shape into a series of ripples.
- To launch or unleash in rapid succession. Hearns' 'Mech rippled fifteen missiles. Austen watched the missiles go in. They smashed into a copse of trees, smashing the trunks aside.
ripple²
- /ˈɹɪp(ə)l/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɪpəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English *ripelen, repulen, equivalent to rip + -le (frequentative suffix).
verb ripples · rippling · rippled
- To scratch, tear, or break slightly; graze An horsemans javelin[…]having slightly rippled the skinne of his left arme, pierced within his short ribs.
ripple³
- /ˈɹɪp(ə)l/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɪpəl
Where it comes from
Compare German Low German Repel, Dutch repel, German Riffel, extended forms (with instrumental or diminutive -le) of Low German Repe (“ripple”), Dutch repe (“ripple”). Compare also Dutch repen, German reffen, Swedish repa (“to beat; ripple”).
The verb is from Middle English ripplen, rypelen. Compare Low German repelen, Dutch repelen, German riffeln.
noun ripples · reeple · riple
- An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.
verb ripples · rippling · rippled · reeple · riple
- To remove the seeds from (the stalks of flax, etc.), by means of a ripple.
ripple⁴
- /ˈɹɪp(ə)l/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɪpəl
Where it comes from
Dialectal form of thripple.
noun ripples
- thripple, cart ladder (extension for cart or wagon)
Ripple⁵
proper noun Ripples
- A village and civil parish in Dover district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR3450).
- A village and civil parish in Malvern Hills district, Worcestershire, England (OS grid ref SO8737).
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: wavelet, undulate, guggle, bubble, burble, ruffle, gurgle, riffle, babble, cockle, wave, wrinkle, spillover, pacing, pacemaker, spate
Translations
Every language
noun moving disturbance or undulation in the surface of a liquid
| Español | ondulación |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 물결 mulgyeol, 연의 yeonui, 사문 samun |
| 日本語 | 漣 sazanami, 漣漪 ren'i, 砂紋 samon |
| 中文 | 波 bō, 波纹 bōwén, 水波 shuǐbō, 漣漪 /涟漪 liányī |
| Português | ondulação |
| Français | ondulation |
| Deutsch | Kräuseln, kleine Welle |
| Italiano | increspatura |
| Română | undă |
| Русский | рябь rjabʹ, зыбь zybʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | gợn, gợn sóng |
| עברית | אַדְוָה advá |
noun sound similar to that of undulating water
| Русский | журча́ние žurčánije |
|---|
noun small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal
| Français | ondulation résiduelle |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Welligkeit |
| Русский | колеба́ния kolebánija, пульса́ции pulʹsácii |
verb to move like the undulating surface of a body of water
| Español | ondular |
|---|---|
| Português | ondular |
| Français | onduler |
noun implement for removing the seeds from flax
| Français | drège |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Riffel, Riffelkamm |
| Italiano | scapecchiatoio |
| Română | darac |
Talk about this word "ripple." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ripple. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ripple. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ripple "ripple." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ripple.Cite this
@misc{ripple_2026,
title = {ripple},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ripple},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
