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to rip off
01
to tear or remove something by force
Ditransitive
Grammatical Information
Composition
phrasal
Action verb
Regular
Separable
Particle
off
Base verb
rip
Present tense
rip off
3rd person singular
rips off
Present participle
ripping off
Past simple
ripped off
Past participle
ripped off
Examples
He accidentally ripped off the button from his shirt while rushing.
02
to take advantage of someone by charging them too much money or selling them a defective product
Transitive: to rip off sb
Slang
What does "to rip off" mean in slang?
The phrase "to rip off" means to cheat or take advantage of someone, usually by overcharging them or providing something of poor quality for the price. The structure is a phrasal verb where "rip" implies forceful removal and "off" intensifies the sense of exploitation. It is informal slang commonly used in everyday speech to describe unfair business practices or scams, as in being charged too much for something.
Examples
The store ripped off customers by selling counterfeit designer handbags at full price.
03
to steal or make an illegal copy of something
Transitive: to rip off sth
Examples
He tried to rip off the company's confidential data to sell it to a competitor.
