ripen Hear it!

ripen Definition

ripen (pən)

intransitive verb, transitive verb

to become or make ripe; mature, age, cure, etc.

ripen Related Forms

rip·ener noun

ripen Synonyms

ripen

v.

  1. To mature

    grow up, come of age, mellow, reach perfection; see mature 1.

  2. To grow

    develop, evolve, advance; see grow 2.

ripen Usage Examples

Object

  • grape: However, lack of rain is not enough as of course you need sunshine and warmth to ripen grapes.
  • tomato: The list of genetically improved plants also includes potatoes, flax, rice, sugar beet, wheat, chicory and faster ripening tomatoes.
  • cheese: As a result most ripened cheeses, like Cheddar and Swiss, contain about 95 % less lactose than whole milk.
  • fruit: Net or cage ripening fruits to protect them from birds.
  • grain: The sun comes out to play on the ripening grain.
  • corn: In the autumn, flocks of sparrows feed on ripening split corn.

Preposition: on

  • vine: Sleepy villages relax in the sun and plump grapes ripen on the vine.
  • tree: What I love is leaving an odd banana to ripen on the trees that the birds can eat.

Preposition: at

time: But over the course of the harvest, these cherries ripen at different times - meaning they have to be tended every day.

Adjective complement

green: Produces small thin walled fruits that ripen green to red.

Modifying Another Word

  • slowly: They are culinary pears which are described as being typically hard and gritty and ripen slowly but are long keeping.
  • traditionally: Hawes Matured Wensleydale takes on the appearance of a truly traditionally ripened cheese.
  • naturally: Because our fruit and vegetables ripen naturally, we have a very short time to get them to you in their peak condition.
  • quickly: Winter barley Most forward crops on lighter land are ripening very quickly; Siberia may be ready for combining in 2 weeks.
  • fully: Well basically they are fully ripened plums which have been dried to remove most of the water.
  • properly: But the majority will ripen properly if you put them somewhere dry.

Preposition: in

  • autumn: The berries of Butcher's Broom, like small, bright scarlet peas ripen in autumn.
  • sun: Each year, these potted trees are placed outside for the summer, where the fruits ripen in the sun.
  • summer: Once the winter wheat matures and ripens in early summer, it must be harvested quickly and the seedbed prepared to plant the corn.

Preposition: of

fruit: Ripen forces the production of flowers or the ripening of fruit, in a last effort to spread its genes.