ripen

intransitive-verb
UK: /ˈraɪpən/
US: /ˈraɪpən/

  1. To become ripe; to reach the stage of full development.

    1. The tomatoes will ripen in the sun.
    2. As the summer progressed, the peaches began to ripen, promising a sweet harvest.

  2. To develop and become ready, usually referring to fruit or crops.

    1. Apples ripen best in cool weather.
    2. Farmers waited for the wheat to ripen before starting the harvest season.

Synonyms

mature develop season age
ripen transitive-verb

  1. To cause something to become ripe or more mature.

    1. The sun can ripen fruit quickly.
    2. The farmer used special techniques to ripen the tomatoes for the market.

  2. To bring to maturity or completeness; to develop fully.

    1. Proper storage will ripen the cheese.
    2. The warm greenhouse environment helped ripen the exotic fruits imported from overseas.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "ripen" in English means: To become ripe; to reach the stage of full development., To develop and become ready, usually referring to fruit or crops..

The phonetic transcription of "ripen" is /ˈraɪpən/ in British English and /ˈraɪpən/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "ripen": mature, develop, season, age.

Example usage of "ripen": "The tomatoes will ripen in the sun.". More examples on the page.