ragtime

noun

rag·​time ˈrag-ˌtīm How to pronounce ragtime (audio)
1
: rhythm characterized by strong syncopation in the melody with a regularly accented accompaniment in stride-piano style
2
: music having ragtime rhythm

Examples of ragtime in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Hurt drew inspiration from disparate sources, including ragtime and music from minstrel and medicine shows. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024 Gershwin’s proposal was bold and obvious: Early forms of African American ragtime and blues had taken the nation by storm, and his job was to allude to those idioms in a virtuoso concerto. Ethan Iverson, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024 At Southside Preservation Hall on Saturday, about a dozen Black musicians will perform songs from traditional genres such as old-time, string band, jug band, ragtime and early blues and jazz as part of the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival. Dallas News, 14 Mar. 2022 Ferrell speaks — and sings — in her own language, blending country, bluegrass, jazz, pop, old-time, and ragtime, with a stage aesthetic that’s like a hillbilly Moulin Rouge. Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 18 Jan. 2024 Abels then orchestrated the score by Giddens, whose opera deftly draws from gospel, blues, spirituals, ragtime, Senegalese music, opera traditions and more. George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Nov. 2023 The quartet can perform a range of music from ragtime to the sounds of a saxophone in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2023 This free two-day event Saturday and Sunday features eight local bands that play the swing, ragtime, hot jazz, stride, New Orleans, and other early jazz styles that fall under the umbrella of traditional jazz. Noah Schaffer, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Aug. 2023 And in the score, Joplin pushed himself past ragtime into music that lilts, soars and swings with tenderness and vivacity, somewhat in the grand operetta style of Gilbert and Sullivan (if without the patter). Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 27 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ragtime.' 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

probably from ragged + time

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ragtime was in 1896

Dictionary Entries Near ragtime

Cite this Entry

“Ragtime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtime. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ragtime

noun
rag·​time ˈrag-ˌtīm How to pronounce ragtime (audio)
1
: music played with a strong march-style rhythm and a lively melody with accented notes falling on beats that are not usually accented
2
: music having ragtime rhythm

More from Merriam-Webster on ragtime

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