noun any longitudinal ridge in a plant.
2. rib ·noun a prominent line or ridge, as in cloth.
3. rib ·noun that which resembles a rib in form or use.
4. rib ·vt to inclose, as with ribs, and protect; to shut in.
5. rib ·noun an elongated pillar of ore or coal left as a support.
6. rib ·noun the chief nerve, or one of the chief nerves, of a leaf.
7. rib ·noun a wife;
in allusion to eve, as made out of adam's rib.
8. rib ·noun solid coal on the side of a gallery; solid ore in a vein.
9. rib ·noun one of the rods on which the cover of an umbrella is extended.
10. rib ·noun a longitudinal strip of metal uniting the barrels of a double-barreled gun.
11. rib ·vt to furnish with ribs; to form with rising lines and channels; as, to rib cloth.
12. rib ·noun a ridge, fin, or wing, as on a plate, cylinder, beam, ·etc., to strengthen or stiffen it.
13. rib ·noun one of the curved bones attached to the vertebral column and supporting the lateral walls of the thorax.
14. rib ·noun a projecting mold, or group of moldings, forming with others a pattern, as on a ceiling, ornamental door, or the like.
15. rib ·noun one of the timbers, or bars of iron or steel, that branch outward and upward from the keel, to support the skin or planking, and give shape and strength to the vessel.
xvi. rib ·noun in gothic vaulting, one of the primary members of the vault. these are strong arches, meeting and crossing one another, dividing the whole space into triangles, which are then filled by vaulted construction of lighter material. hence, an imitation of one of these in wood, plaster, or the like.