Meaning
10 senses(archaic, literary, transitive)Sometimes followed by away or from: to obtain or seize (something, especially property) by force or violence; to plunder.
(archaic, literary, transitive)Sometimes followed by down, up, or (obsolete) in: to eat (something, such as food or prey) greedily; to devour, to wolf down.
(archaic, figuratively, literary, transitive)To absorb or take in (something, such as information) greedily; also, to approach or pounce on (someone) like prey.
(archaic, intransitive, literary)Followed by about, after, or for: to go after or seek for something, especially booty or spoils; to maraud, to plunder; also (generally), to move about wildly and cause damage; to rampage.
(archaic, intransitive, literary)To eat greedily; also, followed by on or upon: of an animal: to prey on.
(archaic, intransitive, literary)Sometimes followed by about or on: to move about searching for food or prey ravenously.
(archaic, intransitive, literary)Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a ravenous appetite or craving for food or prey.
(archaic, intransitive, literary)Originally followed by with: to experience great hunger; to be ravenous.
(archaic, figuratively, intransitive, literary)To take and exploit or make use of greedily.
(archaic, figuratively, intransitive, literary)Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a strong craving or desire for, or to do, something; to crave, to desire, to yearn.
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English ravin, ravine, raven (“rapine, robbery; rape; forcThe noun is derived from Middle English ravin, ravine, raven (“rapine, robbery; rape; force, violence; greed, rapacity; stolen goods, booty, plunder; prey, quarry; pursuit of prey; predatoriness, voracity”), from Anglo-Norman ravein, raveine, ravine (“rapine, robbery; rape; force, violence; greed, rapacity; impetuousness; stolen goods”), Middle French ravine, and Old French ravine (“rapine, robbery; force, violence; impetuousness”), from Latin rapīna (“pillage, plunder, robbery, rapine; booty, plunder”), from rapiō (“to abduct, carry off; to grab, snatch; to rape; to steal”) (from Proto-Italic *rapjō (“to seize, take away”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rep- (“to snatch”)) + -īna (suffix forming abstract nouns).
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Forms
ravins, ravining, ravined, ravinedWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle