Ripple

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪpÉ™l

Origin

Middle English rypelen, frequentative of rippen 'to rip'. More at rip.

Full definition of ripple

Noun

1. A moving disturbance or undulation in the surface of a liquid.I dropped a small stone into the pond and watched the ripples.
2. A sound similar to that of undulating water.
3. A style of ice cream in which flavors have been coarsely blended together.I enjoy fudge ripple ice cream, but I especially like to dig through the carton to get at the ripple part and eat only that.
4. (electronics) A small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal.
5. An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.

Verb

1. To move like the undulating surface of a body of water; to undulate.
2. To propagate like a moving wave.
• 2008, Bradley Simpson, Economists with Guns, page 65:These problems were complicated by a foreign exchange crunch which rippled through the economy in 1961-1962, ....
3. To make a sound as of water running gently over a rough bottom, or the breaking of ripples on the shore.
4. To remove the seeds from (the stalks of flax, etc.), by means of a ripple.
5. (by extension) To scratch or tear.

Anagrams

• Prilep