This meaning describes fruit, grain, or crops that have reached the proper stage for eating or gathering.
The peaches are ripe and sweet.
Farmers harvested the ripe wheat.
This broader meaning describes age, judgment, ideas, or conditions that have reached an advanced stage.
He reached the ripe age of ninety.
The plan emerged from years of ripe experience.
This figurative meaning describes circumstances that are especially favorable or prepared for something to happen.
The market is ripe for innovation.
The situation was ripe for reform.
This informal meaning describes an odor that is strong, stale, or unpleasant.
The room was ripe with the smell of old cheese.
His clothes became ripe after the long hike.
