How do you use the word "rib" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "rib": Our neighbor has broken a rib. I just cracked a rib.

Rib Meaning

/ɹɪb/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounAny of a series of long curved bones occurring in 12 pairs in humans and other animals and extending from the spine to or toward the sternum.

nounA part or piece, similar to a rib, and serving to shape or support something.

Sentence Examples

Our neighbor has broken a rib.

I just cracked a rib.

We only serve the prime rib dinner on weekends.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

guy roast costa

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

After the accident, the doctor examined the patient's chest and found a broken ____.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The doctor confirmed that she had fractured a ____ during the fall and advised her to rest.

Word Origin & History

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”). 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”). (wife or woman): In reference to the creation of Eve from Adam's rib in the Bible.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"On an early winter afternoon, clear but not cold, when the vegetable world was a weird multitude of skeletons through whose ribs the sun shone freely, a gleaming landau came to a pause on the crest of a hill in Wessex." — 1882, Thomas Hardy, chapter I, in Two on a Tower. A Romance. [...] In Three Volumes, volume I, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 1:

"'Near to it was the portrait of his rib, Dame Middleton.'" — 1862, George Borrow, Wild Wales:

"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:

"It [lead] were too gross 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]:

Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words