RIPEN
What does "RIPEN" mean?
To become ripe, or to cause fruit or grain to become ripe.
Meanings
- To grow ripe; to reach full maturity, as fruit or grain does. The tomatoes ripen on the vine through August.
- To develop fully or come to maturity, as a plan, relationship, or situation. Their friendship ripened into something deeper over the years. figurative
Did you know?
- Many fruits ripen because they release ethylene gas, a plant hormone; one ripe banana can speed up the ripening of nearby fruit by giving off this gas - which is why a banana ripens an avocado in a paper bag.
Word origin
From Old English 'ripian', to ripen, from 'ripe' (ready for harvest); related to 'reap', from the sense of grain being ready to be gathered.
Remember it
RIPEN = make RIPE happen: add '-en' to 'ripe' and the fruit goes from green to gold.
A little poem
Green held its hard shape
all spring - then one warm August
and the bough goes soft.
haiku
Wordplay
- I left a banana with my avocados to help them ripen. Now the whole bowl is plotting something fruity.
What it teaches
Ripeness can't be rushed by wanting it; it comes from warmth and time, and knows its own hour.
Quick facts
What does RIPEN mean?
To become ripe, or to cause fruit or grain to become ripe.
Is RIPEN a valid word?
Yes — RIPEN is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is RIPEN?
RIPEN has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does RIPEN come from?
From Old English 'ripian', to ripen, from 'ripe' (ready for harvest); related to 'reap', from the sense of grain being ready to be gathered.
What can RIPEN teach us?
Ripeness can't be rushed by wanting it; it comes from warmth and time, and knows its own hour.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.