The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rip cord \Rip cord\
(A["e]ronautics) A cord by which the gas bag of a balloon may be ripped open for a limited distance to release the gas quickly and so cause immediate descent.
a cord which, when pulled, opens a parachute.
Wikipedia
Rip Cord (also known as Ripcord) is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) Jumper and debuted in 1984.
Comedian actor Marlon Wayans portrayed Rip Cord in the 2009 film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Usage examples of "rip cord".
I should hate to pull the rip cord and then miss the edge by a foot.
Also gone was Blade's last chance to pull the rip cord and land in deep water.
The cells of his chute hadn't opened right, and he hadn't fully cut free before pulling the emergency rip cord.
He jumped, pulled the rip cord on the parachute, and it didn't open.
Where I'd have just pulled the rip cord and let it go at that, she was a fanatic about saving energy, and ran a line from the rover's solar panel to the tent's power supply, as if the reactor wouldn't last a fortnight on its own.
Upside down, the wind howling in his ears, drenched to the bone, he scrabbled for the rip cord.
Disoriented, he could not find the rip cord, and he pan-icked, tasting bile in his mouth.
Leg straps, shoulder straps, the rip cord ring, proper harness position.
He gripped the chest strap of his seat belt as if he were holding the rip cord of a parachute during a skydive.
He wondered whether to pull the rip cord of Snowden's parachute and cover him with the nylon folds.
I convinced myself that I had to pull the rip cord to keep from landing right in the city.
That meant that I must fall rapidly right out of the picture and not pull the rip cord until I was close to the ground, in visual darkness and in ground radar shadow.
That meant clearing his airspace and arching his body as perfectly as possible, then locating and maintaining eye contact with his main rip cord on the right, outboard side of his parachute harness.
The next step was to grasp and pull the rip cord and check over his right shoulder to be sure that his canopy was deploying properly.
He yanked the rip cord out of its metal sleeve and set his muscles and took the shock of the parachute opening.