ribbonrib‧bon /ˈrɪbən/ ●●○ noun 
little girls with ribbons in their hair a bundle of letters tied with pale blue ribbon The ribbon was cut and the new station was officially open.2military honour [countable] a piece of ribbon with a special pattern on it that you wear to show that you have received a military honour3prize [countable] American English a length of coloured ribbon, sometimes arranged in the form of a flat flower, that is given as a prize in a competition SYN rosette British English: For the second time she won the blue ribbon (=first prize).4something narrow [singular] written something that is long and narrowribbon of a winding ribbon of water5be cut/torn to ribbons to be cut or torn in a lot of places: Her legs were bruised and her feet were cut to ribbons.6ink [countable] a long narrow piece of cloth or plastic with ink on it that is used in a typewriter
WORD ORIGINribbon
Origin:
1500-1600 riband ‘ribbon’ (14-21 centuries), from Old French riban, rubanEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Christmas ornaments hung from red ribbons on the tree.
- Fire Island is a 30-mile-long ribbon of beachland.
- Before her the long straight reach of the canal lay like a silver ribbon.
- Below: Satin or embroidered ribbons, brocades, bows and tassels can all give added dimension and interest to pictures.
- Bows can be tied in satin ribbon or in matching or contrasting fabric.
- Get enough ribbon to wrap the jam box and tie a bow.
- She had light brown hair tied, like Patsy's, with ribbon.
WORD SETS
action stations, nounaide-de-camp, nounairborne, adjectiveaircraft carrier, nounairlift, nounallied, adjectivearmour, nounarms control, nounarms race, nounarray, verbassault course, nounAWOL, adjectivebalance of power, nounbandmaster, nounbandsman, nounbase, nounbattle, nounbattle, verbbattle cry, nounbattlefield, nounbattlements, nounbeachhead, nounbivouac, nounblackout, nounblast, verbblitz, nounblockade, nounblockade, verbblockhouse, nounbloodshed, nounbody bag, nounbody count, nounbomb, verbbombard, verbbombardment, nounbomb disposal, nounboot camp, nounbowman, nounbreastplate, nounbridgehead, nounbunker, nouncall-up, nouncannonade, nouncapability, nouncaptain, nouncapture, nouncarrier, nouncashier, verbcenotaph, nounchief of staff, nouncitation, nouncivil defence, nounC.O., nouncommand, nouncommand, verbcommandant, nouncommander, nouncommander in chief, nouncommand post, nouncommissariat, nouncommissary, nouncommission, nouncommissioned officer, nounconquer, verbconquest, nounconscientious objector, nounconscript, verbconscript, nounconscription, nounconvoy, verbcookhouse, nounCorp., corporal, nouncorps, nouncounterinsurgency, nouncounterintelligence, nouncountermand, verbcounter-revolution, nouncourt-martial, nouncourt-martial, verbcross, noundawn raid, noundeath camp, noundemilitarize, verbdemobilize, verbdeploy, verbdetonate, verbdisarm, verbdisarmament, noundispatch, noundraft board, noundraft card, noundraft dodger, noundraftee, noundress uniform, noundrum major, noundump, nounechelon, nounencamp, verbenemy, nounengage, verbengagement, nounenlist, verbenlisted, adjectiveexchange, nounex-serviceman, nounex-servicewoman, nounfield, verbfirst lieutenant, nounfirst strike, nounflak jacket, nounflash, nounfort, nounfortress, nounfoxhole, nounFPO, front, noungas mask, noungeneral headquarters, nounGHQ, nounguardhouse, nounheadquarters, nounhigh command, nounHQ, nounincursion, nounindefensible, adjectiveinsignia, nouninstallation, nouninsubordination, nounintelligence, nouninternment, nouninvade, verbinvader, nouninvasion, nounkit bag, nounKP, nounlieutenant, nounline, nounMaj., major, nounmajor general, nounman, nounmarch, verbmarch, nounmarch-past, nounmarshal, nounmassacre, nounmassacre, verbmess, nounmess, verbmilitarism, nounmilitarized, adjectiveMilitary Academy, nounMilitary Cross, nounmilitary service, nounmilitia, nounmilitiaman, nounminuteman, nounmission, nounMP, nounmutineer, nounmutinous, adjectivemutiny, nounnational service, nounNATO, nounNCO, nounno-man's-land, nounnon-aggression, nounnon-aligned, adjectivenon-combatant, nounobjective, nounobservation post, nounoccupation, nounoccupy, verboffence, nounoffensive, adjectiveoffensive, nounofficer, nounoperation, nounorderly, nounoutflank, verboutpost, nounoverthrow, verboverwhelm, verbpact, nounpadre, nounparade, nounparamilitary, adjectiveparapet, nounpartisan, nounpassword, nounpatrol, nounperilous, adjectiveperiscope, nounpillbox, nounpincer movement, nounpost, verbPOW, nounpre-war, adjectiveprisoner, nounprisoner of war, nounPurple Heart, nounpush, nounputsch, nounPX, nounquarter, verbquartermaster, nounquell, verbR & R, nounraid, nounraid, verbrank, nounrebellion, nounrecapture, verbreconnaissance, nounreconnoitre, verbrecruit, verbrecruit, nounreinforce, verbrelieve, verbRemembrance Day, nounrepel, verbrequisition, verbretake, verbretire, verbretreat, verbretreat, nounreview, nounreview, verbribbon, nounsabre-rattling, nounsally, nounsalute, verbsalute, nounsalvo, nounsamurai, nounscorched earth policy, nounscout, nounscout, verbscramble, verbsecond lieutenant, nounsentinel, nounsentry, nounsentry box, nounsergeant, nounsergeant major, nounserviceman, nounservicewoman, nounSgt., shell, verbshelling, nounsiege, nounskirmish, nounstaff officer, nounstaging area, nounstandard-issue, adjectivestar, nounstation, nounstation, verbstrategic, adjectivestrategist, nounstrategy, nounstripe, nounstronghold, nounsuperpower, nounsuppress, verbsurgical strike, nounsurrender, verbsurrender, nountactical, adjectivetarget, nountarget, verbtask force, nountattoo, nountheatre, nountrench warfare, nountripwire, nountruce, nounturret, noununarmed, adjectiveunoccupied, adjectivevalour, nounveteran, nounvolunteer, nounvolunteer, verbwar chest, nounwar crime, nounwar cry, nounwar dance, nounwar effort, nounwarfare, nounwarhorse, nounwarlike, adjectivewarlord, nounwar memorial, nounwarmonger, nounwarrant officer, nounwarring, adjectivewarrior, nounwar-torn, adjectivewar widow, nounwar zone, nounwounded, adjectivezero hour, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY For the second time she won the blue ribbon (=first prize).COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
For the second time she won the blue ribbon (=first prize).· Her hair was rolled into a passable pageboy and sometimes tied with a black ribbon.· I shove aside a pile of dehydrated red and black typewriter ribbons and set my machine down with a clunk.· A maroon jacket and a panama hat with a shiny black ribbon.· Around her neck was a narrow black velvet ribbon with the ends falling down her back.· Inside were two parcels, wrapped in oiled silk, and tied with black ribbon.
· The government has set up a blue-ribbon commission to try to take corrective action.· Then there was Raymond Lereaux who showed horses and won blue ribbons that he brought to school for Show and Tell.· Then he went on gazing at Thérèse, voluptuous in flowered chintz and blue ribbons.· Christine had friends in the Working Groups, and Tim wore the blue ribbon.· A cot swathed in draperies and blue ribbon stood isolated in a corner.· The Longitude Act established a blue ribbon panel of judges that became known as the Board of Longitude.· There were two large bouquets and a bundle of letters tied with pale blue ribbon, presumably from stage-door admirers.· There are blue devils and blue ribbons and blue bloods.
· The young man gauged her reaction and bought an emerald green ribbon which he handed to her.· And she had her hair done in pigtails with green ribbons, and a stupid green hat stuck on her head.· When he took a green ribbon from her and tied it loosely round his waist, Joseph was even more disturbed.
· She was panting hard by the time she saw the narrow white ribbon that was the road to Coton.· Around her neck was a narrow black velvet ribbon with the ends falling down her back.· The grain is narrowly interlocked, sometimes wavy or variegated, producing roe or narrow ribbon striped figure on quartered surfaces.· She dragged her hair ruthlessly back and tied it with a narrow ribbon.
· She had scraped her hair back from her forehead and tied it in a ponytail with a pink ribbon.· Her face was framed by her Pamela bonnet, a nimbus of straw trimmed with pink ribbons and blue silk anemones.
· In a little plastic bottle with a yard of red ribbon round it.· He put the papers into a cardboard folder and tied it with a red ribbon.· She had large, soft eyes and her hair was tied back with a red ribbon.· Mulcahey slipped the red ribbon around the collar and tied a big bow.· Twist some lengths of red ribbon and let them fall down the sides of the cake.· He was carrying four thick brown cardboard accordion folios tied with faded red ribbons.· This archer wears a white smock over a grey uniform with distinguishing red ribbons and plume.· With its vast red ribbon and handmade card, it had transformed the garage into something quite magical.
· They were tied with white ribbons, as if, she thought contemptuously, I were a silly young girl.· He had wrapped the damned box with the shiny silver paper and a white ribbon with a bow.· To top it all I added a red and white ribbon to the crest of my perm.· The tiny pens, scrawling in palsied traces on endless white ribbons of paper, slowly ground to a halt.· She was panting hard by the time she saw the narrow white ribbon that was the road to Coton.· They wore white ribbons in their hair.· After drying her hair Ruth tied it back from her face with a white velvet ribbon and planned her next move.· Her collar and pleats were pressed, and there was a perfect white ribbon in her hair.
· And tied around the oak tree was the largest yellow ribbon I'd yet seen.
NOUN· To complete the unit the small amount of point-to-point wiring is added, using multi-strand connecting wire or pieces of ribbon cable.· All the ribbon cables and power leads were bundled up neatly, making for a clean-looking interior.· A formed cover with slots for the blades fits over the ribbon cable and retains the it.· To fit the connector locate the appropriate position on the ribbon cable.· The ribbon cable normally has a red stripe marking line 1.· If you don't know for sure which type of drive you have check the ribbon cable running into it.· The stripe on a ribbon cable traditionally marks pin 1.· Cable Strangely enough the thing that most people have problems with when installing a new drive is the ribbon cable.
· It can be the dreary horror of ribbon development.· Two-thirds of the way down is Buchi Emecheta's house, built in the anonymous style of 1930s ribbon development.· These powers were permissive, and in most of Britain urban sprawl and ribbon development continued more or less unabated.· Subsequent ribbon development has been so spectacular that they were booming even before the election announcement.· Most would have appeared undistinguished and unsophisticated, especially those ribbon developments with a restricted range of internal structures.
· At each corner, satin ribbon bows.· A satin ribbon lay across her throat, provocative as if she had set it there herself.· Bows can be tied in satin ribbon or in matching or contrasting fabric.· Folly flew back into the tiny bathroom and tore at the wide satin ribbon which bound the base of the cellophane package.· Optional trimmings For a gathered frill: lace or double-sided satin ribbon, measuring twice the perimeter of the cushion.· Gilded page ends. Satin ribbon page markers.· Trousers too are cigarette slim or tapered, complete with satin ribbon down the side.
VERB· He would cut the ribbon on many of the new towers.· The college's oldest student, Edgar Pryce, 84, of Newton Aycliffe, cut a ribbon to launch the celebrations.· A former state senator cut the ribbon to reopen the place.· She knew it would give a nasty sting, but it wouldn't cut her flesh to ribbons.· He hugged hundreds of babies, shook thousands of hands and cut ribbons at new universities, high-tech factories and a hospital.· And as he cut the ribbon there would sometimes be tears in his eyes.
· Finally, tie a colourful ribbon around your gift.· And the waist was tied with satin ribbons.· Nick combed her hair and tied the ribbon himself, badly, too loosely.· He was carrying four thick brown cardboard accordion folios tied with faded red ribbons.· They were tied with white ribbons, as if, she thought contemptuously, I were a silly young girl.· The key to the front door was tied on to a little ribbon pinned into my pocket.· Her hair was tied in a ribbon and she looked positively chirpy.· My braids are tied with small red ribbons, my black laced shoes are polished.
· It is worth buying covered elastic bands or using a ribbon.· It also provides you the same opportunity if revisions are necessary. Use a new typewriter ribbon for your final draft.· Get the notes typewritten using a new ribbon, or copy them out in black felt tip pen in large capital letters.· Try to use a mixture of ribbons, pairing plain and patterned ones of the same or differing widths.· Tie back a curtain. Use ribbon in a weight appropriate for the thickness of the curtains.
· Many of the Lilliput lords wear their ribbons proudly at all times.· Did I care that on his chest he wore no small ribbons indicative of this medal or that yet to come?· The king wore it on a ribbon around his neck on ceremonial occasions.· They wore white ribbons in their hair.· The president and the first lady wore purple ribbons on their coat lapels.· Christine had friends in the Working Groups, and Tim wore the blue ribbon.· Jim wore a blue ribbon on his black lapel.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1piece of cloth [countable, uncountable] a narrow piece of attractive cloth that you use, for example, to tie your hair or hold things together: - Her feet were cut to ribbons on the rocks.
little girls with ribbons in their hair a bundle of letters tied with pale blue ribbon The ribbon was cut and the new station was officially open.2military honour [countable] a piece of ribbon with a special pattern on it that you wear to show that you have received a military honour3prize [countable] American English a length of coloured ribbon, sometimes arranged in the form of a flat flower, that is given as a prize in a competition SYN rosette British English: For the second time she won the blue ribbon (=first prize).4something narrow [singular] written something that is long and narrowribbon of a winding ribbon of water5be cut/torn to ribbons to be cut or torn in a lot of places: Her legs were bruised and her feet were cut to ribbons.6ink [countable] a long narrow piece of cloth or plastic with ink on it that is used in a typewriter