ripe

/ɹaɪp/

//ɹaɪp// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ripe" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ripe” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,783. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,783
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Of a fruit, vegetable, seed, etc., ready for reaping or gathering; having attained perfection; mature.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ripe · ripe · English

ripe · rank #11,783 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,783
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Richie

Nearest frequency peer: Richie (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ripe”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ripe” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ripe vs RP
0% similar
ripe vs rue
50% similar
ripe vs RPG
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ripe
PropertyValue
Headwordripe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɹaɪp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#11,783
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ripe” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ripe lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around ripe (IPA /ɹaɪp/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,783 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for ripe, with forms such as "irpe", "riep", and "rippe". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "RP", "rue", "RPG", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ripe, rype, from Old English rīpe (“ripe, mature”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpī, from Proto-Germanic *rīpijaz, *rīpiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”). Cognate with West Frisian ryp (“ripe”), Dutch rijp (“ripe”), Germa… The correct English form is ripe, spelled R-I-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a fruit, vegetable, seed, etc., ready for reaping or gathering; having attained perfection; mature.
  2. 2
    Of a food, advanced to the state of fitness for use; mellow.
  3. 3
    Having attained its full development; mature; perfected.
  4. 4
    Of a sore, tumor, etc., maturated or suppurated; ready to discharge.
  5. 5
    Ready for action or effect; prepared.
  6. 6
    Ofa person, ready, willing, eager.
  7. 7
    Like ripened fruit in ruddiness and plumpness.
  8. 8
    Intoxicated.
  9. 9
    Of a conflict between parties, having developed to a stage where the conflict may be reviewed by a court of law.
  10. 10
    Smelly: having a disagreeable odor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ripe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. So mayst thou live, till, like ripe fruit, thou drop / Into thy mother's lap.
  2. Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that di…

Etymology

From Middle English ripe, rype, from Old English rīpe (“ripe, mature”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpī, from Proto-Germanic *rīpijaz, *rīpiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”). Cognate with West Frisian ryp (“ripe”), Dutch rijp (“ripe”), German reif (“ripe”). Related to reap.

Antonyms

unripe

This word in other languages

maduro(Español)mûr(Français)reif(Deutsch)maduro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irpe
  • riep
  • rippe
  • rpie
  • rripe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ripe - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

irpe2riep2rippe1rpie2rripe1
Edit distance from "ripe"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ripe"?
"ripe" is spelled R-I-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹaɪp/.
What does "ripe" mean?
As an adjective, "ripe" means: Of a fruit, vegetable, seed, etc., ready for reaping or gathering; having attained perfection; mature.
What words are commonly confused with "ripe"?
"ripe" is commonly confused with "RP", "rue", "RPG". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ripe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ripe" is /ɹaɪp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ripe"?
From Middle English ripe, rype, from Old English rīpe (“ripe, mature”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpī, from Proto-Germanic *rīpijaz, *rīpiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”). Cognate with West Frisian ryp (“ripe”), Dutch rijp (“rip... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ripe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sane#11,791rash#11,772rant#11,771spun#11,799

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Nikki5 variantsmole5 variantslure5 variantsgala5 variants
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list