Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive & intransitive verb To make or become ripe or riper; mature.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To grow ripe; come to maturity, as grain or fruit: used by extension of the maturing of anything, as of a boil.
  • To become fit for some particular use by lying or resting.
  • To approach or come to completeness or perfection; come to a state of fitness or readiness; be prepared or made ready: as, the project is ripening for execution.
  • Synonyms See mature, a.
  • To mature; make ripe, as grain or fruit.
  • To bring to maturity, perfection, or completion; develop to a desired or desirable state.
  • To make fit or ready for use.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To cause to mature; to make ripe.
  • transitive verb To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection.
  • intransitive verb To grow ripe; to become mature, as grain, fruit, flowers, and the like.
  • intransitive verb To approach or come to perfection.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive to grow ripe; to become mature, as in botany: grain, fruit, flowers, and the like; as, grapes ripen in the sun.
  • verb intransitive To approach or come to perfection.
  • verb transitive To cause to mature; to make ripe; as, the warm days ripened the corn.
  • verb transitive To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection; as, to ripen the judgment.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb grow ripe
  • verb cause to ripen or develop fully

Etymologies

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