ripened

Everyday

1. Became ripe: fruit or grain grew ready to eat or harvest. tree →
2. Made something ripe. tree →
3. (of ideas, plans, cheese) Developed fully over time. tree →

In the lessons

In science and nature lessons it describes fruit changing colour, getting softer and sweeter. In everyday life green bananas ripened on the windowsill. Old phrases: «the time was ripe» means the right moment had come. Phrases: «sun-ripened», «ripened on the vine».

Examples

• The tomatoes ripened in the greenhouse. tree →
• The bananas ripened faster in a paper bag. tree →
• Sun-ripened strawberries taste the sweetest. tree →
• By August the wheat had ripened. tree →
• The cheese ripened in a cave for months. tree →
• Her plan ripened slowly over the summer. tree →

Note

Past form of «ripen». Fact: some fruits like bananas, avocados and pears keep ripening after picking; others, like strawberries and grapes, do not. Ethylene gas from bananas speeds up ripening of nearby fruit.