Adjacent Words

Ripple definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RIP'PLE, v.i.
To fret on the surface; as water when agitated or running over a rough bottom, appears rough and broken, or as if ripped or torn.
RIP'PLE, v.t.
1. To clean, as flax.
2. To agitate the surface of water.
RIP'PLE, n.
1. The fretting of the surface of water; little curling waves.
2. A large comb or hatchel for cleaning flax.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a small wave on the surface of a liquid [syn: ripple, rippling, riffle, wavelet]
2: (electronics) an oscillation of small amplitude imposed on top of a steady value v
1: stir up (water) so as to form ripples [syn: ripple, ruffle, riffle, cockle, undulate]
2: flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise; "babbling brooks" [syn: ripple, babble, guggle, burble, bubble, gurgle]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (rippled; rippling) Etymology: perhaps frequentative of ¹rip Date: circa 1671 intransitive verb 1. a. to become lightly ruffled or covered with small waves b. to flow in small waves c. to fall in soft undulating folds <the scarf rippled to the floor> 2. to flow with a light rise and fall of sound or inflection <laughter rippled over the audience> 3. to move with an undulating motion or so as to cause ripples <the canoe rippled through the water> 4. to have or produce a ripple effect ; spread <the news rippled outwards> transitive verb 1. to stir up small waves on 2. to impart a wavy motion or appearance to <rippling his arm muscles> 3. to utter or play with a slight rise and fall of sound • rippler noun II. noun Date: 1755 1. a. a shallow stretch of rough water in a stream b. (1) the ruffling of the surface of water (2) a small wave 2. a. ripple mark b. a sound like that of rippling water <a ripple of laughter> c. a usually slight noticeable effect or reaction • ripply adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a ruffling of the water's surface, a small wave or series of waves. 2 a gentle lively sound that rises and falls, e.g. of laughter or applause. 3 a wavy appearance in hair, material, etc. 4 Electr. a slight variation in the strength of a current etc. 5 ice-cream with added syrup giving a coloured ripple effect (raspberry ripple). 6 US a riffle in a stream. --v. 1 a intr. form ripples; flow in ripples. b tr. cause to do this. 2 intr. show or sound like ripples. Phrases and idioms: ripple mark a ridge or ridged surface left on sand, mud, or rock by the action of water or wind. Derivatives: ripplet n. ripply adj. Etymology: 17th c.: orig. unkn. 2. n. & v. --n. a toothed implement used to remove seeds from flax. --v.tr. treat with a ripple. Etymology: corresp. to MDu. & MLG repel(en), OHG riffila, rifilon

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ripple Rip"ple, n. [FRom Rip, v.] An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ripple Rip"ple, v. t. 1. To remove the seeds from (the stalks of flax, etc.), by means of a ripple. 2. Hence, to scratch or tear. --Holland.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ripple Rip"ple, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rippled; p. pr. & vb. n. Rippling.] [Cf. Rimple, Rumple.] 1. To become fretted or dimpled on the surface, as water when agitated or running over a rough bottom; to be covered with small waves or undulations, as a field of grain. 2. To make a sound as of water running gently over a rough bottom, or the breaking of ripples on the shore.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ripple Rip"ple, v. t. To fret or dimple, as the surface of running water; to cover with small waves or undulations; as, the breeze rippled the lake.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ripple Rip"ple, n. 1. The fretting or dimpling of the surface, as of running water; little curling waves. 2. A little wave or undulation; a sound such as is made by little waves; as, a ripple of laughter. 3. (physics) a small wave on the surface of water or other liquids for which the driving force is not gravity, but surface tension. 4. (Electrical engineering) the residual AC component in the DC current output from a rectifier, expressed as a percentage of the steady component of the current. Ripple grass. (Bot.) See Ribwort. Ripple marks, a system of parallel ridges on sand, produced by wind, by the current of a steam, or by the agitation of wind waves; also (Geol.), a system of parallel ridges on the surface of a sandstone stratum.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ripples, rippling, rippled) 1. Ripples are little waves on the surface of water caused by the wind or by something moving in or on the water. N-COUNT 2. When the surface of an area of water ripples or when something ripples it, a number of little waves appear on it. You throw a pebble in a pool and it ripples... I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. VERB: V, V n 3. If something such as a feeling ripples over someone's body, it moves across it or through it. (LITERARY) A chill shiver rippled over his skin. VERB: V prep 4. If an event causes ripples, its effects gradually spread, causing several other events to happen one after the other. The ripples of Europe's currency crisis continue to be felt in most of the member states... N-COUNT: usu pl, with supp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. Purl. II. v. a. Fret, dimple, curl. III. n. Rimple, undulation, little wave, fretting, ruffling (of water).

Moby Thesaurus

agitate, agitation, babble, beat, beat up, billow, bore, breakers, broken ground, broken water, bubble, burble, chop, choppiness, chopping sea, churn, churn up, chute, cocker, cockle, comb, comber, convulse, corduroy, corduroy road, corrugate, corrugation, crankle, crease, crimp, crimple, crinkle, crumple, dimple, dirty water, disarrange, discompose, disquiet, disturb, eagre, excite, ferment, flurry, flutter, fret, furrow, goose bumps, goose pimples, gooseflesh, gravity wave, ground swell, guggle, gurgle, heave, heavy sea, heavy swell, hint, horripilation, knit, knot, lap, lift, lop, paddle, peak, perturb, perturbate, perturbation, plash, popple, pucker, purl, purse, rapid, rapids, ridge, riff, riffle, rile, rimple, ripple of applause, ripple of laughter, rise, rivel, roil, roll, roller, rough, rough water, roughen, ruck, ruckle, ruffle, rumple, sandpaper, sault, scend, sea, send, shake, shake up, shirr, shoot, slosh, soupcon, splash, stir, stir up, suggestion, surf, surge, swash, swell, swirl, swish, tidal bore, tidal wave, tide wave, trill, trouble, trough, tsunami, undulate, undulation, upset, wash, washboard, water wave, wave, wavelet, whip, whip up, whisk, white horses, whitecaps, wimple, work up, wrinkle