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Rib   /rɪb/   Listen
noun
Rib  n.  
1.
(Anat.) One of the curved bones attached to the vertebral column and supporting the lateral walls of the thorax. Note: In man there are twelve ribs on each side, of which the upper seven are directly connected with the sternum by cartilages, and are called sternal, or true, ribs. The remaining five pairs are called asternal, or false, ribs, and of these each of the three upper pairs is attached to the cartilage of the rib above, while the two lower pairs are free at the ventral ends, and are called floating ribs. See Thorax.
2.
That which resembles a rib in form or use. Specifically:
(a)
(Shipbuilding) One of the timbers, or bars of iron or steel, that branch outward and upward from the keel, to support the skin or planking, and give shape and strength to the vessel.
(b)
(Mach. & Structures) A ridge, fin, or wing, as on a plate, cylinder, beam, etc., to strengthen or stiffen it.
(c)
One of the rods on which the cover of an umbrella is extended.
(d)
A prominent line or ridge, as in cloth.
(e)
A longitudinal strip of metal uniting the barrels of a double-barreled gun.
3.
(Bot.)
(a)
The chief nerve, or one of the chief nerves, of a leaf.
(b)
Any longitudinal ridge in a plant.
4.
(Arch.)
(a)
In Gothic vaulting, one of the primary members of the vault. These are strong arches, meeting and crossing one another, dividing the whole space into triangles, which are then filled by vaulted construction of lighter material. Hence, an imitation of one of these in wood, plaster, or the like.
(b)
A projecting mold, or group of moldings, forming with others a pattern, as on a ceiling, ornamental door, or the like.
5.
(Mining)
(a)
Solid coal on the side of a gallery; solid ore in a vein.
(b)
An elongated pillar of ore or coal left as a support.
6.
A wife; in allusion to Eve, as made out of Adam's rib. (Familiar & Sportive) "How many have we known whose heads have been broken with their own rib."
Chuck rib, a cut of beef immediately in front of the middle rib. See Chuck.
Fore ribs, a cut of beef immediately in front of the sirloin.
Middle rib, a cut of beef between the chuck rib and the fore ribs.
Rib grass. (Bot.) Same as Ribwort.


verb
Rib  v. t.  (past & past part. ribbed; pres. part. ribbing)  
1.
To furnish with ribs; to form with rising lines and channels; as, to rib cloth.
2.
To inclose, as with ribs, and protect; to shut in. "It (lead) were too gross To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave."
To rib land, to leave strips of undisturbed ground between the furrows in plowing.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Rib" Quotes from Famous Books



... head bobbed up in the water, and there was a flash of steel followed by a cry or a whoop. In the confusion some struck at their own side. The corkscrew of Smee got Tootles in the fourth rib, but he was himself pinked in turn by Curly. Farther from the rock Starkey was pressing Slightly and the ...
— Peter and Wendy • James Matthew Barrie
... again took up the rib-thudding. Out of the corner of his left eye he had seen a shadow that fell across the garden. When he slowly turned his head to follow the stain upon the sun-splashed soil, he saw that it clung to a ...
— They Twinkled Like Jewels • Philip Jose Farmer
... shoulder pieces, the bloody neck and the spare-rib as bare as you can, then cut the middle pieces as large as they can lie in the tub, salt them with saltpetre, bay-salt, and white salt; your saltpetre must be beat small, and mix'd with the other salts; half a peck of white salt, a quart of bay-salt, and half a pound of saltpetre, ...
— English Housewifery Exemplified - In above Four Hundred and Fifty Receipts Giving Directions - for most Parts of Cookery • Elizabeth Moxon
... sublime thought, nor any production which surpasses the ordinary capacities of the human mind. On the contrary, we shall see on one side fabulous tales similar to that of a woman formed of a man's rib; of the pretended terrestrial Paradise; of a serpent which spoke, which reasoned, and which was more cunning than man; of an ass which spoke, and reprimanded its master for ill-treating it; of a universal deluge, and of an ark where animals of all kinds were inclosed; ...
— Superstition In All Ages (1732) - Common Sense • Jean Meslier
... the knotty joints of the vine in the light branch which rises highest. Yet only half the finish of the work can be seen in the Plate: for, in several cases, the sculptor has shown the under sides of the leaves turned boldly to the light, and has literally carved every rib and vein upon them, in relief; not merely the main ribs which sustain the lobes of the leaf, and actually project in nature, but the irregular and sinuous veins which chequer the membranous tissues between them, and which the sculptor has represented ...
— Stones of Venice [introductions] • John Ruskin


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