rag

1 of 5

noun (1)

1
a
: a waste piece of cloth
b
rags plural : clothes usually in poor or ragged condition
c
: clothing
the rag trade
2
: something resembling a rag
3
: newspaper
especially : a sleazy newspaper

rag

2 of 5

noun (2)

1
: any of various hard rocks
2
: a large roofing slate that is rough on one side

rag

3 of 5

verb

ragged ˈragd How to pronounce rag (audio) ; ragging

transitive verb

1
: to rail at : scold
2

rag

4 of 5

noun (3)

chiefly British
: an outburst of boisterous fun
also : prank

rag

5 of 5

noun (4)

: a composition in ragtime
Phrases
rag on
: to make fun of

Examples of rag in a Sentence

Verb several readers called in to rag the editor for his paper's repeated grammatical lapses
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
But instead of stitching together leftover rags to make the dolls, Twain turned to her own backyard for inspiration, using plants and organic material to fashion dolls. USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024 For pieces that are worn out, cut them up and use them for rags, or look for clothing recycling options near you. Abby Ferguson, Popular Science, 28 Feb. 2024 Close off rooms to avoid wasting heat. Place towels or rags in cracks under doors. Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Jan. 2024 Out-of-work circus performers Doc and Amelia Farmer collected rags, cleaned and resold them through their Acme Industrial Laundry Company. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024 Fonseca cites influences ranging from Pollock’s gestural abstraction to Antoni Tàpies’s textured use of string, rags, and other nontraditional elements to van Gogh’s extraordinary color sense. Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Jan. 2024 After a photograph of her kissing Dodi Fayed went for £1.7 million ($2.15 million), it’s reported that over 2,000 paparazzi headed to the Mediterranean—a gossip rag gold rush. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 29 Nov. 2023 Four or five people can sit comfortably on the couch, and when pasta sauce was spilled on the cushion, an upholstery foam cleaner and a damp rag left no visible stain behind. Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 8 Jan. 2024 Wipe down your shower head with a damp rag once per week to prevent buildup. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 7 Jan. 2024
Verb
During the evening session of the second day at Rajkot, Duckett was imperious, unstoppable and running the hosts ragged. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024 Thanking You with all their post lo-fi Virgin records money and ragged glory in the mid-90s, before shoving your expectations down the toilet bowl, with career highlight and misunderstood masterpiece Sweet Sixteen in 1997. Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 8 Feb. 2024 Holes and ragged edges in brassica leaves are usually from snails, slugs or tiny green worms. Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2024 There are minor imperfections (the topmost of the polo’s four buttonholes arrived unfinished and a touch ragged) and the shirt’s large, soft collar, the only option, gets helplessly flummoxed under even a light blazer. Josh Condon, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2023 Even sportscasters appear to be run ragged by the probabilities. John Otis, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2023 Finally, at the very end of the night, there was a quickly emptying Coliseum field dotted with giddy Huskies dancing around grim security guards, yet another team that showed up and ran the Trojans ragged. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2023 Type 3 is smooth, soft, and sausage-shaped, while type 4 is slightly mushy and has ragged edges.6 Signs of Unhealthy Bowel Function Constipation and diarrhea are signs of bowel dysfunction and are both relatively common. Elizabeth Pratt, Health, 20 Sep. 2023 Terhune is intimate with this working-class portrait of America, its fences, porch flags, televangelists, crop prices and ragged men wandering roads with cardboard signs. Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rag.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English ragge, from Old English *ragg, from Old Norse rǫgg tuft, shagginess

Noun (2)

Middle English ragge

Verb

origin unknown

Noun (4)

short for ragtime

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1739, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

1825, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1881, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rag was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near rag

Cite this Entry

“Rag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rag. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rag

1 of 3 noun
1
: a waste or worn piece of cloth
2
plural : shabby or very worn clothing
dressed in rags
3
: newspaper
especially : a low quality newspaper

rag

2 of 3 verb
ragged; ragging
1
: to rail at : scold
2

rag

3 of 3 noun
: a composition in ragtime
Etymology

Verb

origin unknown

More from Merriam-Webster on rag

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