Ripe
/raɪp/
adjectiveA2
Definition
Ripe describes fruit or vegetables that are fully grown and ready to be eaten because they have reached the right time of growth. It can also describe ideas, moments, or situations that are ready or perfect for something to happen.
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See It in Action
Fully grown and ready to eat (fruit, vegetables)
- •The bananas are ripe and sweet now.
- •Pick the tomatoes when they are ripe.
- •These peaches look ripe and juicy.
Ready or perfect for something (ideas, moments, situations)
- •The time is ripe to start a new project.
- •The conditions are ripe for change.
- •His plan was ripe for success.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "ripe" like "ready," but only for fruit or things that grow—it's when they are at their best to eat or use
- ✓Picture a bright red apple hanging on a tree, soft and sweet, ready to be picked and eaten
- ✓It's the feeling when you wait for a watermelon to be just right—neither too hard nor too soft
- ✓Sounds like "ripe" → imagine a ripe fruit popping in your mouth with a juicy burst
- ✓Remember stories where characters wait for the right moment, like a fruit ripening before harvest
- ✓NOT like "green" (unripe, not ready), "ripe" means fully grown and perfect
- ✓NOT like "rotten" (bad or old), "ripe" means good and fresh, ready to enjoy
Try Other Words
- •Mature: fully grown or developed (Use when focusing on full growth, often for people or animals, less for fruit)
- •Ready: prepared for use or action (Use for general situations or things, not just fruit)
- •Developed: fully formed or grown (Use for ideas or plans, less for food)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: (single root word, no prefix or suffix)
- •Etymology: From Old English "rīpe," meaning fully grown or mature (related to "ripen," the verb)
- •Historical development: Originally used for fruit and crops, later extended to ideas and situations
- •Modern usage: Commonly used for food, but also for moments or conditions that are perfect or ready
Reflect & Connect
•Can you think of a time when an idea or plan was "ripe" for action? What made it ready?
•How do you decide if a fruit is ripe enough to eat? What signs do you look for?
Fill in the blanks
1.The mango is ripe because its skin has turned ___ and it feels ___.
2.You should not eat fruit when it is ___ because it tastes sour or hard.
3.The time was ripe ___ the team to try a new strategy after many failures.
4.When fruit is ripe, it usually smells ___ and looks ___.
5.A ripe idea is one that has been thought about enough and is ___ for action.
6.If a banana is too black and soft, it is overripe and may be ___.
7.Farmers wait until the fruit is ripe ___ they pick it to sell at the market.