RIB (ribbed, ribbing)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: ribbed    , ribbing   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rib mean? 

• RIB (noun)
  The noun RIB has 6 senses:

1. support resembling the rib of an animal

2. any of the 12 pairs of curved arches of bone extending from the spine to or toward the sternum in humans (and similar bones in most vertebrates)

3. cut of meat including one or more ribs

4. a teasing remark

5. a riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant

6. a projecting molding on the underside of a vault or ceiling; may be ornamental or structural

  Familiarity information: RIB used as a noun is common.

• RIB (verb)
  The verb RIB has 2 senses:

1. form vertical ribs by knitting

2. subject to laughter or ridicule

  Familiarity information: RIB used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RIB (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Support resembling the rib of an animal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rib" is a kind of...):

support (any device that bears the weight of another thing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rib"):

screw thread; thread (the raised helical rib going around a screw)

Holonyms ("rib" is a part of...):

hull (the frame or body of ship)

umbrella (a lightweight handheld collapsible canopy)

wing (one of the horizontal airfoils on either side of the fuselage of an airplane)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of the 12 pairs of curved arches of bone extending from the spine to or toward the sternum in humans (and similar bones in most vertebrates)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

costa; rib

Hypernyms ("rib" is a kind of...):

bone; os (rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates)

Meronyms (parts of "rib"):

costal cartilage (the cartilages that connect the sternum and the ends of the ribs; its elasticity allows the chest to move in respiration)

Domain category:

craniate; vertebrate (animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rib"):

true rib (one of the first seven ribs in a human being which attach to the sternum)

Holonyms ("rib" is a part of...):

craniate; vertebrate (animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cut of meat including one or more ribs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("rib" is a kind of...):

cut; cut of meat (a piece of meat that has been cut from an animal carcass)

Meronyms (parts of "rib"):

rib roast; standing rib roast (a cut of meat (beef or venison) including more than one rib and the meat located along the outside of the ribs)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rib"):

sparerib (a cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A teasing remark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("rib" is a kind of...):

comment; input; remark (a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information)

Derivation:

rib (subject to laughter or ridicule)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("rib" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rib"):

calamus; quill; shaft (the hollow spine of a feather)

nervure; vein (one of the horny ribs that stiffen and support the wing of an insect)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A projecting molding on the underside of a vault or ceiling; may be ornamental or structural

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rib" is a kind of...):

molding; moulding (a decorative strip used for ornamentation or finishing)

• RIB (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they rib    ... he / she / it ribs   
Past simple: ribbed   
Past participle: ribbed   
-ing form: ribbing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Form vertical ribs by knitting

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

A ribbed sweater

Hypernyms (to "rib" is one way to...):

knit (make (textiles) by knitting)

Domain category:

handicraft (a craft that requires skillful hands)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Subject to laughter or ridicule

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

blackguard; guy; jest at; laugh at; make fun; poke fun; rib; ridicule; roast

Context example:

His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday

Hypernyms (to "rib" is one way to...):

bemock; mock (treat with contempt)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rib"):

tease (mock or make fun of playfully)

lampoon; satirise; satirize (ridicule with satire)

debunk; expose (expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas)

stultify (cause to appear foolish)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

rib (a teasing remark)

ribbing (the act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously (especially by ridicule); provoking someone with persistent annoyances)

 Context examples 

Administration within the thorax (internal to the ribs); synonymous with the term endothoracic.

(Endothoracic Route of Administration, Food and Drug Administration/CDISC)

Jim and I had forgotten our tears, and were holding our ribs before she came to the end of it.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The synovial joints that attach the heads of the ribs to the bodies of the thoracic vertebrae.

(Costovertebral Joint, NCI Thesaurus)

“He was eight years and six months old when they broke his first rib; eight years and eight months old when they broke his second, and did for him.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Administration of a drug within the thorax (internal to the ribs).

(Endothoracic Route of Administration, NCI Thesaurus)

I glanced over my shoulder, and my heart jumped against my ribs.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The cartilage positioned between the anterior end of the rib and the sternum.

(Costal Cartilage, NCI Thesaurus)

A muscle located between two ribs.

(Intercostal Muscle, NCI Thesaurus)

The rounded, uppermost part of the lung, located above the level of the sternal end of the first rib.

(Apex of the Lung, NCI Thesaurus)

Look at the band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)