I. rope 1 S3 W3 /rəʊp $ roʊp/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: rap ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] very strong thick string, made by twisting together many thinner strings:
They tied a rope around my waist and pulled me up.
The man was coiling a length of rope.
2 . the ropes [plural]
a) all the things someone needs to know to do a job or deal with a system:
I spent the first month just learning the ropes.
He works repairing streets, and knows the ropes when it comes to safety.
Miss McGinley will show you the ropes and answer any questions.
b) the rope fence that surrounds an area used for ↑ boxing or ↑ wrestling
3 . be on the ropes informal to be in a very bad situation, in which you are likely to be defeated:
The army says the rebels are on the ropes.
4 . be at/near etc the end of your rope especially American English to have no more ↑ patience or strength left to deal with a problem or a difficult situation:
My son is causing endless problems, and I’m close to the end of my rope.
5 . give somebody some/enough etc rope to give someone a lot of freedom to do something in the way they want to do it:
Managers have to decide how much rope to give their subordinates.
6 . give somebody enough rope to hang themselves to give someone freedom to do what they want to do, because you think they will cause problems for themselves and you want them to look stupid
7 . a rope of pearls ↑ pearl s on a string, worn around your neck as jewellery
⇨ ↑ jump rope , ↑ skipping rope , ↑ tightrope , ↑ towrope , ⇨ money for old rope at ↑ money (17)
II. rope 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . [always + adverb/preposition] to tie things together using rope
rope something to something
Suitcases were roped to the top of the car.
rope somebody/something together
Mountaineers rope themselves together for safety.
2 . American English to catch an animal using a circle of rope:
The calves are roped and branded.
rope somebody into something ( also rope somebody ↔ in British English ) phrasal verb informal
to persuade someone to help you in a job or join in an activity, especially when they do not want to
rope somebody into doing something
Denise roped me into selling tickets.
rope somebody in to do something
Anyone who could sing was roped in to help.
Have you been roped in too?
rope something ↔ off phrasal verb
to surround an area with ropes, especially in order to separate it from another area:
The stairs were roped off.