/ rɪb; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] any of the curved bones that are connected to the spine and surround the chest :
a broken / bruised / cracked rib
Stop poking me in the ribs !
—picture at skeleton
—see also ribcage
2.
[ U , C ] a piece of meat with one or more bones from the ribs of an animal
—see also spare rib
3.
[ C ] a curved piece of wood, metal or plastic that forms the frame of a boat, roof, etc. and makes it stronger
4.
[ U , C ] a way of knitting that produces a pattern of vertical lines in which some are higher than others :
a rib cotton sweater
•
IDIOMS
see dig verb
■ verb
( -bb- ) [ vn ] rib sb (about / over sth) ( old-fashioned , informal ) to laugh at sb and make jokes about them, but in a friendly way
SYN tease
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English rib , ribb (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch rib(be) and German Rippe . The sense tease was originally a US slang usage meaning to fool, dupe (1930s).