noun
- any of the arched bones attached posteriorly to the vertebral column and enclosing the chest cavity: in humans there are twelve pairs of such bones
- a cut of meat having one or more ribs
- spareribs
- a wife: in humorous reference to the Biblical creation of Eve from Adam's rib (Gen. 2:21-22)
- a raised ridge in cloth, esp. in knitted material
- any of the curved crosspieces extending from the keel to the top of the hull in a ship, forming its framework
- the structural crosspieces attached to a spar for shaping and strengthening an airplane wing
- any narrow riblike piece used to form, strengthen, or shape something: a rib of an umbrella
Origin:
< the rib, sense
Slang- a teasing or bantering remark or action
- a satire or parody
- Archit.
- a long curved piece in an arch
- any of the transverse and intersecting arches of a vault
- Bot. any of the main veins in a leaf
Origin:
ME ribbe < OE rib, akin to ON rif, Ger rippe < IE base *rebh-, to arch over, roof over > Gr ereptein, to crown, OSlav rebro, rib
transitive verb ribbed, ribbing
- to provide, form, or strengthen with a rib or ribs
- to put ribs in; mark with ribs
Origin:
prob. < rib-tickle
Slang to tease or make fun of; kid