rib

1. 1.

   support resembling the rib of an animal

   Broadersupport

   Narrowerscrew thread

   Part ofhullwingumbrella
2. 2.

   any of the 12 pairs of curved arches of bone extending from the spine to or toward the sternum in humans (and similar bones in most vertebrates)

   Synonymscosta

   Broaderbone

   Narrowertrue rib

   Part ofvertebrate

   Partscostal cartilage

   vertebrate

3. 3.

   cut of meat including one or more ribs

   Broadercut

   Narrowersparerib

   Partsrib roast
4. 4.

   a teasing remark

   Broaderremark
5. 5.

   a riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant

   Broaderstructure

   Narrowerquillvein
6. 6.

   a projecting molding on the underside of a vault or ceiling; may be ornamental or structural

   Broadermolding

1. 1.

   form vertical ribs by knitting

   “A ribbed sweater”

   Broaderknit

   handicraft

2. 2.

   subject to laughter or ridicule

   “The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house”

   “The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher”

   “His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday”

   Synonymsridiculeroastguyblackguardlaugh atjest atmake funpoke fun

   Broadermock

   Narrowerteasesatirizedebunkstultify

Other forms of rib

plural

ribs·

past tense or participle

ribbed

present participle

ribbing

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about rib

What does rib mean?

rib means "support resembling the rib of an animal". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in rib?

rib has 1 syllable: rib. In IPA it is /ˈɹɪb/.

What is another word for rib?

Close synonyms include costa, ridicule, roast, guy, blackguard. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is rib a common word?

rib is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.