rib ‧ bon /ˈrɪbən/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: riband 'ribbon' (14-21 centuries) , from Old French riban , ruban ]
1 . PIECE OF CLOTH [uncountable and countable] a narrow piece of attractive cloth that you use, for example, to tie your hair or hold things together ⇨ bow :
little girls with ribbons in their hair
a bundle of letters tied with pale blue ribbon
The ribbon was cut and the new station was officially open.
2 . MILITARY HONOUR [countable] a piece of ribbon with a special pattern on it that you wear to show that you have received a military honour
3 . PRIZE [countable] American English a length of coloured ribbon, sometimes arranged in the form of a flat flower, that is given as a prize in a competition SYN rosette British English :
For the second time she won the blue ribbon (=first prize) .
4 . SOMETHING NARROW [singular] written something that is long and narrow
ribbon of
a winding ribbon of water
5 . be cut/torn to ribbons to be cut or torn in a lot of places:
Her legs were bruised and her feet were cut to ribbons.
6 . INK [countable] a long narrow piece of cloth or plastic with ink on it that is used in a ↑ typewriter