ribbon /ribˈən/

1. Fine material, usu of silk or synthetic fibre, tightly woven in narrow bands or strips and used for decoration, trimming, etc
2. A strip of this or other material
3. Anything resembling such a strip, such as a road or a stripe of colour
4. A torn strip, a tatter or shred
5. A watchspring
6. An endless saw
7. A mollusc's radula
8. A strip of inking cloth, eg for a typewriter
9. A diminutive of the bend, one-eighth of its width (heraldry)
10. (in pl) driving reins

1. Made of ribbon
2. Of the shape of a ribbon, forming a narrow band or strip
3. Having bands of different colours

1. To decorate with, mark into, or make into ribbon
2. To stripe
3. To streak

1. To form into strips
2. To streak

Ribbˈonism noun

An Irish secret society movement, at its height about 1835–55, opposed to the Orangemen, named from its badge, a green ribbon

ribbˈonry noun

Ribbons collectively

ribbˈony adjective

ribbon building or ribbon development noun

Unplanned building, growth of towns, in long strips along the main roads

ribbˈonfish noun

A long, slender, laterally compressed fish of the family Trachypteridae, esp the oarfish

ribbˈon-grass noun

Gardener's garters, a striped canary-grass

Ribbˈon-man noun

A member of the Ribbonism movement

• fore-and-aft sails
• foreanent
• forearm
• forearmed
• forearming
• forearms
• forebear
• forebears
• forebitt
• forebitter
• forebitters
• forebitts
• forebode
• foreboded
• forebodement
• forebodements
• foreboder
• foreboders
• forebodes
• fore-bodies
• foreboding
• forebodingly
• forebodings
• fore-body
• fore-brace