In surfing, a rip is a current where water which has been brought into the beach by breaking waves goes back out to sea. Sometimes a rip will go sideways along the beach before going out to sea. The water usually rips back out in a spot where the bottom is deeper, and therefore the waves don't break there as much. This makes rips much loved by surfers, because they make it much easier to get out behind the line of breaking waves. Rips can be very dangerous for swimmers, especially if they don't have experience swimming in surf.

If you get caught in a rip, don't try to swim against the current. Swim sideways out of the rip, and then catch a wave back to shore.