raffles

[ raf-uhlz ]

noun(often initial capital letter)
  1. a gentlemanly burglar, amateur housebreaker, or the like.

Origin of raffles

1
1925–30; after Raffles, hero of The Amateur Cracksman, by E. W. Hornung (1866–1921), English novelist

Words Nearby raffles

Other definitions for Raffles (2 of 2)

Raffles
[ raf-uhlz ]

noun
  1. Sir Thomas Stamford, 1781–1826, English colonial administrator in the East Indies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use raffles in a sentence

  • The same “raffles” afterwards turned up at Newport, where the girls for several weeks led a life of thrilling interest.

  • What is the discovery of the Boy raffles compared with your bringing to light the family history of poor little Eunice!

  • raffles, wheels, and rings were employed to extract coins from the under-zealous.

    The Pacific Triangle | Sydney Greenbie
  • Norman, on returning to the fancy fair, found the world in all the ardour of raffles.

    The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for Raffles

Raffles

/ (ˈræfəlz) /


noun
  1. Sir Thomas Stamford . 1781–1826, British colonial administrator: founded Singapore (1819) as a station for the British East India Company

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012