noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A cord to release a parachute from its sack.

   "pull the ripcord"

2. 2
   a cord that is pulled to open a parachute from its pack during a descent wordnet
3. 3
   a cord that is pulled to open the gasbag of a balloon wide enough to release gas and so causes the balloon to descend wordnet

Example

More examples

"I have to pull a ripcord to start my lawn mower."

Etymology

From rip + cord.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.