Meanings
present singular third person rips off · participle present ripping off · participle past ripped off · past ripped off
- literallyTo pull off by ripping.
- slangtransitiveTo cheat or swindle, especially by charging an excessively high or unfair price.
I can't believe how the car dealerships try to rip off their customers.
2 more examples
But a personal and almost menopausal crisis brings him back to an Edinburgh he hardly recognises. As if in a Sergio Leone film, Renton has an obscure need to return, to confront the demons of his past, in particular the three guys he ripped off after a drug deal at the end of the last story.
2017 January 19, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn't disappoint”, in the Guardian"Nobody wants to feel ripped off, do they? And when you look at refurbishments like this, you must make sure the basics are done well, because that is what makes up most of the passenger experience. It makes people come back," says Darney.
2025 July 23, Richard Wilcock, “A new dawn for the Electrostars”, in RAIL, number 1040, page 25 - slangtransitiveTo steal.
- Hey, guys. Where'd you get all that great stuff? - Five-finger discount, man.
1990, "The Telltale Head" (The Simpsons season 1 episode 8)1 more example
Rechy's The Sexual Outlaw had been a formative book for me, ever since I ripped it off from a hometown bookstore in my early teens (what was I supposed to do, interact with a clerk?)
1988 December 18, Christopher Wittke, “Why I Loved Marc Almond From The Minute I First Read About Him”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 23, page 16 - slangtransitiveTo copy, especially illegally.
They ripped off the whole idea from their competitors.
2 more examples
Robert Johnson and the devil, man / Don't know who's gonna rip off who
2013, “Higgs Boson Blues”, in Nick Cave (lyrics), Push the Sky Away, performed by Nick Cave and the Bad SeedsBoyle revives some of the stylistic tics which found themselves being ripped off by geezer-gangster Britflicks back in the day, but now the freezeframes are briefer, sharper; the movie itself refers back to the original with variant flashback versions of famous scenes, but also Super 8-type images of the boys’ poignant boyhood in primary school.
2017 January 19, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn't disappoint”, in the Guardian
Synonyms & antonyms
verbremove by pulling or ripping violently and forcefully
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan estafar
- estafar(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
Czech oškubat, natáhnout
- oškubat(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- natáhnout(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- vzít na hůl(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
Finnish ryöstää, sumuttaa
- ryöstää(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- sumuttaa(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- kusettaa(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- varastaa(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- varastaa(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
French arnaquer, escroquer
- arnaquer(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- escroquer(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- arnaquer(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- escroquer(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
German abziehen, übers Ohr hauen
- abziehen(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- übers Ohr hauen(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- über den Tisch ziehen(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- hereinlegen(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- abzocken(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- über den Tisch ziehen(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- übervorteilen(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- abkupfern(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
- klauen(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
- nachmachen(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
Greek αρπάζω, βουτάω
- αρπάζω (arpázo)(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- βουτάω (voutáo)(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
Hungarian megvág, átver
- megvág(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- átver(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- lehúz(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- koppint(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
- lekoppint(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
Italian spiumare
- spiumare(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
Japanese ぼったくる, 法外な額を請求する
- ぼったくる (bottakuru)(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- 法外な額を請求する (Hōgai-na Gaku o Seikyū-suru)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- ぼったくる (bottakuru)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- パクる (pakuru)(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
Korean 바가지 씌우다
- 바가지 씌우다 (bagaji ssuiuda)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
Latin fraudo
- fraudo(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
Norwegian flå
- flå(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
Polish kraść, ukraść
- kraść(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- ukraść(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- zdzierać(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- zedrzeć(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- podrabiać(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
- podrobić(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
Romanian păcăli, escroca
- păcăli(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- escroca(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- țepui(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- țepui(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
Russian обдира́ть, ободра́ть
- обдира́ть (obdirátʹ)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- ободра́ть (obodrátʹ)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- содра́ть три шку́ры (sodrátʹ tri škúry)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
Spanish estafar, timar
- estafar(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- timar(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- tomar el pelo(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- sablear(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- estafar(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- sablear(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- timar(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- clavar(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- fajar(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- plagiar(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
Tagalog huthot, manloko
- huthot(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- manloko(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
Thai ฉ้อ, โกง
- ฉ้อ (chɔ̂ɔ)(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- โกง (goong)(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- ฉ้อโกง (chɔ̂ɔ-goong)(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- ฉ้อฉล(idiom) to steal, cheat or swindle
- โก่งราคา(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- โขก (kòok)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- ฟัน (fan)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- ฟันหัวแบะ (fan-hǔua-bɛ̀)(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
- ลอก (lɔ̂ɔk)(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
- ลอกเลียน(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
- เลียนแบบ (liian-bɛ̀ɛp)(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
- ก๊อป (gɔ́p)(idiom) to copy, especially illegally
Vietnamese chặt chém
- chặt chém(idiom) to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
Cite this entry
rip off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rip%20off
“rip off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rip%20off. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rip off,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rip%20off.
Source: rip off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.