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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

ripple.

A moving disturbance, or undulation, in the surface of a fluid.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɹɪp(ə)l/UK, US
  1. A moving disturbance, or undulation, in the surface of a fluid.

    I dropped a small stone into the pond and watched the ripples spread.
  2. One of a series of corrugations in flat surface.

    The ebbing tide had left ripples in the sand.
  3. A sound similar to that of undulating water.

  4. 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.
  5. A small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal.

  6. A small spreading change, impact, or effect produced by a larger or more consequential action.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

From an alteration of rimple.

verb/ˈɹɪp(ə)l/UK, US
  1. To move like the undulating surface of a body of water; to undulate.

    intransitive
  2. To propagate like a moving wave.

    intransitive
  3. To make a sound as of water running gently over a rough bottom, or the breaking of ripples on the shore.

    intransitive
  4. To shape into a series of ripples.

    transitive
  5. To launch or unleash in rapid succession.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From an alteration of rimple.

verb/ˈɹɪp(ə)l/UK, US
  1. To scratch, tear, or break slightly; graze

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English *ripelen, repulen, equivalent to rip + -le (frequentative suffix).

noun/ˈɹɪp(ə)l/UK, US
  1. An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.

Where this word 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.

verb/ˈɹɪp(ə)l/UK, US
  1. To remove the seeds from (the stalks of flax, etc.), by means of a ripple.

Where this word 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/ˈɹɪp(ə)l/UK, US
  1. thripple, cart ladder (extension for cart or wagon)

    dialectal · historical
Where this word comes from

Dialectal form of thripple.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.