Ripping means grabbing the audio or video content (typically from a CD or DVD)
To rip a CD or DVD means to copy its contents (usually sound or video) to a hard disk or other storage medium.
For audio CDs audio-cd, special programs are needed. For data on CD-ROMS or any form of DVD, the content is already in the form of files that can be copied directly, but special software may still help work with some formats.
