… letting rip a huge fart … — Elizabeth Aubrey

— often used in phrases like let her rip , let 'er rip , and let it rip

… Espo [Phil Esposito] let it rip , tearing into fans for booing their team on home ice. — Bill Brioux

We kept telling him, 'You're a great shooter, just step up and let' er rip .' — Mark Few , quoted at spokesman.com

Recent Examples on the Web Showing your gratitude by letting your daughter know how much she’s loved and cherished. — Terry Baddoo, USA TODAY , 24 Sep. 2024 Find it on Amazon Nothing Like a Big Bowl of Wax in the Morning This might look like cereal, but let the headline warn you! — Savannah Smith, Rolling Stone , 23 Sep. 2024 Hughes stresses a need for more comprehensive speech-recognition tech that lets users do things like manage emails and format documents using their voice. — Nadia Leigh-Hewitson, CNN , 23 Sep. 2024 Presidents have the authority to intervene in labor disputes that pose a threat to national security or safety under the Taft-Hartley Act, which lets the president impose an 80-day cooling-off period under which workers go back to work while negotiations continue. — Mark Faithfull, Forbes , 23 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for let These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'let.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Verb (1)

Middle English leten , from Old English lǣtan ; akin to Old High German lāzzan to permit, and perhaps to Lithuanian lėnas tranquil

Verb (2)

Middle English letten , from Old English lettan to delay, hinder; akin to Old High German lezzen to delay, hurt, Old English lǣt late

Noun suffix

Middle English, from Middle French -elet , from -el , diminutive suffix (from Latin -ellus ) + -et

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above