Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to rib
Participle: ribbed
Gerund: ribbing
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | rib |
| you | rib |
| he;she;it | ribs |
| we | rib |
| you | rib |
| they | rib |
Perfect
| I | have ribbed |
| you | have ribbed |
| he;she;it | has ribbed |
| we | have ribbed |
| you | have ribbed |
| they | have ribbed |
Past
| I | ribbed |
| you | ribbed |
| he;she;it | ribbed |
| we | ribbed |
| you | ribbed |
| they | ribbed |
Pluperfect
| I | had ribbed |
| you | had ribbed |
| he;she;it | had ribbed |
| we | had ribbed |
| you | had ribbed |
| they | had ribbed |
Future
| I | will rib |
| you | will rib |
| he;she;it | will rib |
| we | will rib |
| you | will rib |
| they | will rib |
Future Perfect
| I | will have ribbed |
| you | will have ribbed |
| he;she;it | will have ribbed |
| we | will have ribbed |
| you | will have ribbed |
| they | will have ribbed |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | rib |
| you | rib |
| he;she;it | rib |
| we | rib |
| you | rib |
| they | rib |
Perfect
| I | have ribbed |
| you | have ribbed |
| he;she;it | have ribbed |
| we | have ribbed |
| you | have ribbed |
| they | have ribbed |
Imperfect
| I | ribbed |
| you | ribbed |
| he;she;it | ribbed |
| we | ribbed |
| you | ribbed |
| they | ribbed |
Pluperfect
| I | had ribbed |
| you | had ribbed |
| he;she;it | had ribbed |
| we | had ribbed |
| you | had ribbed |
| they | had ribbed |
Conditional
Present
| I | would rib |
| you | would rib |
| he;she;it | would rib |
| we | would rib |
| you | would rib |
| they | would rib |
Perfect
| I | would have ribbed |
| you | would have ribbed |
| he;she;it | would have ribbed |
| we | would have ribbed |
| you | would have ribbed |
| they | would have ribbed |
Imperative
| you | rib |
| we | Let's rib |
| you | rib |
Verbs conjugated like 'rib'
abet,
abhor,
abut,
acquit,
admit,
affrap,
allot,
alum,
amel,
amit,
anagram,
anvil,
apparel,
aret,
arret,
assot,
astun,
attrap,
augur,
avel, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'rib'
bib,
crib,
dib,
drib,
fib,
gib,
jib,
lib,
nib,
rid,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to make fun of
- befool, bust on, clown around, gibe, gird, gleek, jape, jeer, jive, josh, kid, make a fool of, make fun of, make sport of, mimic, mock, needle, niggle, poke fun at, pull one's leg, razz, roast, satirize, scoff, scorn, take the mickey, tease, twit
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. O.E. ribb "rib," from P.Gmc. *rebja (cf. O.N. rif, O.Fris. ribb, O.H.G. ribba, Ger. Rippe), lit. "a covering" (of the chest), from PIE *rebh- "to roof, cover" (cf. O.C.S. rebro "rib"). The verb meaning "tease, fool" is first attested 1930, perhaps as a figurative extension of poking someone in the ribs. Rib joint "brothel" is slang from 1943, probably in allusion to Adam's rib (cf. rib "woman, wife," attested from 1589).
2. From Middle English rib, ribbe, from Old English ribb (“rib”), from Proto-West Germanic *ribi, from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”).
3. Cognate with Dutch rib (“rib”), Norwegian ribbe (“sparerib”), Norwegian ribben (“rib”), Low German ribbe (“rib”), German Rippe (“rib”), Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), Serbo-Croatian rèbro (“rib”).
4. (wife or woman): In reference to the creation of Eve from Adam's rib in the Bible.
Sample Sentences
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He always gets ribbed for his outrageous shirts.
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Mr. Musk, who wore a suit and tie to Thursday’s meeting instead of his usual T-shirt after Mr. Trump publicly ribbed him about his sloppy appearance, defended himself by saying that he had three companies with a market cap of tens of billions of dollars, and that his results spoke for themselves. [2025 March 7, Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman, “Inside the Explosive Meeting Where Trump Officials Clashed With Elon Musk”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:]
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It [lead] were too gross
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To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave. [c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:]