Adjacent Words

ribbon definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any long object resembling a thin line; "a mere ribbon of land"; "the lighted ribbon of traffic"; "from the air the road was a grey thread"; "a thread of smoke climbed upward" [syn: ribbon, thread]
2: an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event [syn: decoration, laurel wreath, medal, medallion, palm, ribbon]
3: a long strip of inked material for making characters on paper with a typewriter [syn: ribbon, typewriter ribbon]
4: notion consisting of a narrow strip of fine material used for trimming

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English riban, from Anglo-French ribane, rubane Date: 14th century 1. a. a flat or tubular narrow closely woven fabric (as of silk or rayon) used for trimmings or knitting b. a narrow fabric used for tying packages c. a piece of usually multicolored ribbon worn as a military decoration or in place of a medal d. a strip of colored satin given for winning a place in a competition 2. a strip of inked fabric (as in a typewriter) 3. plural reins for controlling an animal 4. tatter, shred — usually used in plural <a sheet cut to ribbons> 5. ribband • ribbonlike adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1716 1. a. to adorn with ribbons b. to divide into ribbons c. to cover with or as if with ribbons 2. to rip to shreds

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a narrow strip or band of fabric, used esp. for trimming or decoration. b material in this form. 2 a ribbon of a special colour etc. worn to indicate some honour or membership of a sports team etc. 3 a long narrow strip of anything, e.g. impregnated material forming the inking agent in a typewriter. 4 (in pl.) ragged strips (torn to ribbons). Phrases and idioms: ribbon development the building of houses along a main road, usu. one leading out of a town or village. ribbon worm a nemertean. Derivatives: ribboned adj. Etymology: var. of RIBAND

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ribbon Rib"bon, n. [OE. riban, OF. riban, F. ruban, probably of German origin; cf. D. ringband collar, necklace, E. ring circle, and band.] [Written also riband, ribband.] 1. A fillet or narrow woven fabric, commonly of silk, used for trimming some part of a woman's attire, for badges, and other decorative purposes. 2. A narrow strip or shred; as, a steel or magnesium ribbon; sails torn to ribbons. 3. (Shipbuilding) Same as Rib-band. 4. pl. Driving reins. [Cant] --London Athen[ae]um. 5. (Her.) A bearing similar to the bend, but only one eighth as wide. 6. (Spinning) A silver. Note: The blue ribbon, and The red ribbon, are phrases often used to designate the British orders of the Garter and of the Bath, respectively, the badges of which are suspended by ribbons of these colors. See Blue ribbon, under Blue. Ribbon fish. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any elongated, compressed, ribbon-shaped marine fish of the family Trachypterid[ae], especially the species of the genus Trachypterus, and the oarfish (Regelecus Banksii) of the North Atlantic, which is sometimes over twenty feet long. (b) The hairtail, or bladefish. (c) A small compressed marine fish of the genus Cepola, having a long, slender, tapering tail. The European species (C. rubescens) is light red throughout. Called also band fish. Ribbon grass (Bot.), a variety of reed canary grass having the leaves stripped with green and white; -- called also Lady's garters. See Reed grass, under Reed. Ribbon seal (Zo["o]l.), a North Pacific seal (Histriophoca fasciata). The adult male is dark brown, conspicuously banded and striped with yellowish white. Ribbon snake (Zo["o]l.), a common North American snake (Eutainia saurita). It is conspicuously striped with bright yellow and dark brown. Ribbon Society, a society in Ireland, founded in the early part of the 19th century in antagonism to the Orangemen. It afterwards became an organization of tennant farmers banded together to prevent eviction by landlords. It took its name from the green ribbon worn by members as a badge. Ribborn worm. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A tapeworm. (b) A nemertean.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ribbon Rib"bon, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ribboned; p. pr. & vb. n. Ribboning.] To adorn with, or as with, ribbons; to mark with stripes resembling ribbons.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ribbons) 1. A ribbon is a long, narrow piece of cloth that you use for tying things together or as a decoration. She had tied back her hair with a peach satin ribbon. N-VAR 2. A typewriter or printer ribbon is a long, narrow piece of cloth containing ink and is used in a typewriter or printer. N-COUNT 3. A ribbon is a small decorative strip of cloth which is given to someone to wear on their clothes as an award or to show that they are linked with a particular organization. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Mystik tape, Scotch tape, X ray, actinic ray, actinism, adhesive tape, arch, atomic beam, atomic ray, band, bandage, bandeau, barrow, batten, bead, beam, beam of light, bejewel, belt, beribbon, bespangle, blue ribbon, boundary stone, brass, bust, cairn, cellophane tape, cenotaph, cloth tape, column, cordon, cordon bleu, cromlech, cross, cup, cyclolith, decoration, decoration of honor, diamond, dolmen, engrave, fascia, feather, figure, filigree, fillet, flag, flounce, flower, footstone, friction tape, gamma ray, garland, garter, gem, girdle, gleam, gold star, grand cordon, grave, gravestone, headstone, hoarstone, illuminate, infrared ray, inscription, invisible radiation, jewel, lath, leam, ligula, ligule, list, marker, masking tape, mausoleum, megalith, memento, memorial, memorial arch, memorial column, memorial statue, memorial stone, menhir, monolith, monument, mound, necrology, obelisk, obituary, order, ornament, paint, patch, pencil, photon, pillar, plank, plaque, plastic tape, plume, prize, pyramid, radiation, radiorays, ray, ray of light, red ribbon, reliquary, remembrance, riband, ribband, ribbon of light, rostral column, shaft, shred, shrine, slat, slip, solar rays, spangle, spill, spline, star, stela, stone, strake, strap, streak, stream, stream of light, streamer, strip, stripe, strop, stupa, tablet, taenia, tape, tape measure, tapeline, testimonial, ticker tape, tinsel, tomb, tombstone, tope, trophy, ultraviolet ray, violet ray, wreathe