Library / English Dictionary

RIPPLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small wave on the surface of a liquid

Synonyms:

riffle; ripple; rippling; wavelet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("ripple" is a kind of...):

moving ridge; wave (one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water))

Derivation:

ripple (stir up (water) so as to form ripples)

ripple (flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(electronics) an oscillation of small amplitude imposed on top of a steady value

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("ripple" is a kind of...):

oscillation; vibration ((physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean)

Domain category:

electronics (the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Stir up (water) so as to form ripples

Synonyms:

cockle; riffle; ripple; ruffle; undulate

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "ripple" is one way to...):

flow; flux (move or progress freely as if in a stream)

"Ripple" entails doing...:

fold; fold up; turn up (bend or lay so that one part covers the other)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

ripple; rippling (a small wave on the surface of a liquid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise

Example:

babbling brooks

Synonyms:

babble; bubble; burble; guggle; gurgle; ripple

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "ripple" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Verb group:

gurgle (make sounds similar to gurgling water)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

ripple (a small wave on the surface of a liquid)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He was brought back to himself, however, by a sudden little ripple of quick feminine laughter.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In such cases, the two black holes themselves may eventually merge in an event that would produce gravitational waves that ripple across the universe.

(First-Ever Black-Hole 'Visual Binary' Revealed, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The ripples "have two important measurable components: abundance and short gamma power," said Emily Jones, lead author of the new study.

(Predicting Alzheimer's-like memory loss before it strikes, National Science Foundation)

Black hole mergers generate gravitational waves because, as they orbit each other, their gravity distorts the fabric of space-time, sending ripples outward in all directions at the speed of light.

(Listening for Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars, NASA)

Seismic vibrations that are almost imperceptible to human ears ripple through the rocks.

(Song of the red rock arches, National Science Foundation)

Dear, damp brown hair! I wanted to kiss it, to ripple it through my fingers, to bury my face in it.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Three miles away he came upon a fresh trail that sent his neck hair rippling and bristling, It led straight toward camp and John Thornton.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

While she talked, he seemed to hear, rippling softly, the song of the Lorelei.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The rippling motion of muscles in the intestine or other tubular organs characterized by the alternate contraction and relaxation of the muscles that propel the contents onward.

(Peristalsis, NCI Dictionary)