ripe

The word "ripe" is an adjective that describes the quality of fruit when it is ready to be picked and eaten:

• These cherries look like they’re ripe.
• You can tell fruit is ripe by the way it looks and by the way it tastes.
• The plums aren’t going to be ripe until August.

When you use the word "ripe" as a verb, add an "n" to make the word "ripen."

• Cherries ripen very quickly in early summer.
• Apples ripen in late summer and early fall.
• Strawberries ripened in June.
• Bananas turn from green to yellow as they ripen.

Sometimes the word "ripe" is used for predictable situations or favorable conditions:

• Several countries in the middle east are ripe for a political change.
• That company is ripe for a takeover.
• Conditions in some parts of Africa are ripe for an outbreak of disease.
• The stock market is ripe for a correction.

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July 4, 2014