rope

1 noun

1 (C, U) very strong, thick string, made by twisting together many threads of nylon or other material: They tied up the prisoner with rope. | a bell rope

2 know the ropes to know how to do all the parts of a job, deal with a system etc, because you have a lot of experience of it

3 show sb the ropes to teach someone how to do a job or deal with a system: This is Shirley's first day, so will you show her the ropes?

4 be on the ropes informal to be in a very bad situation, in which you are likely to be defeated

5 give sb plenty of rope to give someone a lot of freedom to do something in the way they want to do it

6 give sb enough rope to hang themselves to give someone freedom to do what they want to do, because you think they will cause problems for themselves

7 be at the end of your rope especially AmE to have no more patience or strength left to deal with a problem or a difficult situation

8 the rope old-fashioned hanging as a punishment

9 the ropes the rope fence that surrounds an area used for boxing or wrestling

10 a rope of pearls pearls on a string, worn around your neck as jewellery

—see also: jump rope, money for old rope money (16) 2 verb

1 (transitive always + adv/prep) to tie things together using rope: rope sth to sth: Harvey roped his horse to a nearby tree. | rope sb/sth together: Two firemen roped themselves together and plunged into the lake.

2 (T) AmE to catch an animal using a circle of rope

rope sb in phrasal verb (T) informal to persuade someone to help you in a job, or to join in an activity, especially when they do not want to: rope sb in to do sth: I've roped Dad in to help with the entertainment. | rope sb into doing sth: Have you been roped into selling tickets? rope sth off phrasal verb (T) to surround an area with ropes, especially in order to separate it from another area: Last night police roped off the area of the find.