rag

¹ American  

[rag] / ræg /

noun

1. a worthless piece of cloth, especially one that is torn or worn.

2. rags, ragged or tattered clothing.

   The tramp was dressed in rags.

3. any article of apparel regarded deprecatingly or self-deprecatingly, especially a dress.

   It's just an old rag I had in the closet.

4. a shred, scrap, or fragmentary bit of anything.

5. Informal.

   1. something of very low value or in very poor condition.

   2. a newspaper or magazine regarded with contempt or distaste.

      Are you still subscribing to that rag?

6. a person of shabby or exhausted appearance.

7. a large roofing slate that has one edge untrimmed.

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idioms

1. chew the rag. chew.

2. from rags to riches, from extreme poverty to great wealth.

   He went from rags to riches in only three years.

rag ² American  

[rag] / ræg /

verb (used without object)

ragged, ragging

1. to subject a person to teasing or scolding, especially in an intense or prolonged way (usually followed byon ).

   Some of the boys were ragging on him about his haircut.

2. to criticize a person or thing (usually followed byon ): I wish reviewers would stop ragging on the movie.

   He rags and whines to me instead of fixing the problem.

   I wish reviewers would stop ragging on the movie.

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verb (used with object)

ragged, ragging

1. to subject to teasing or scolding, especially in an intense or prolonged way.

   He was ragged at school for not joining a sports team.

2. to criticize.

3. British. to torment with jokes; play crude practical jokes on.

noun

1. British. an act of ragging; a cruel or crude practical joke.

rag ³ American  

[rag] / ræg /

verb (used with object)

ragged, ragging

1. to break up (lumps of ore) for sorting.

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rag ⁴ American  

[rag] / ræg /

noun

1. a musical composition in ragtime.

   a piano rag.

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verb (used with object)

ragged, ragging

1. to play (music) in ragtime.

rag ¹ British  

/ ræɡ /

noun

1. 1. a small piece of cloth, such as one torn from a discarded garment, or such pieces of cloth collectively

   2. ( as modifier )

      a rag doll

      a rag book

      rag paper

2. a fragmentary piece of any material; scrap; shred

3. informal a newspaper or other journal, esp one considered as worthless, sensational, etc

4. informal an item of clothing

5. informal a handkerchief

6. slang nautical a flag or ensign

7. to lose one's temper suddenly

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rag ² British  

/ ræɡ /

verb

1. to draw attention facetiously and persistently to the shortcomings or alleged shortcomings of (a person)

2. to play rough practical jokes on

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noun

1. a boisterous practical joke, esp one on a fellow student

2. 1. a period, usually a week, in which various events are organized to raise money for charity, including a procession of decorated floats and tableaux

   2. ( as modifier )

      rag day

rag ³ British  

/ ræɡ /

noun

1. a piece of ragtime music

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verb

1. (tr) to compose or perform in ragtime

rag ⁴ British  

/ ræɡ /

noun

1. a roofing slate that is rough on one side

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rag More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rag

• chew the fat (rag)
• from rags to riches
• glad rags
• run ragged

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Etymology

Origin of rag¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English ragge, from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian, Swedish ragg “coarse hair,” from Old Norse rǫgg

Origin of rag²

First recorded in 1735–40; origin uncertain

Origin of rag³

First recorded in 1870–75; origin uncertain

Origin of rag⁴

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortened form of ragtime

Explanation

A torn bit of old fabric is a rag. You might use a rag to dust the bookshelf or scrub the bathtub, but you wouldn't want to wear one. If your clothes are torn and dirty, they're also rags, and from the sense of "worthless scrap," trashy or low quality newspapers have also long been called rags. A rag is also a somewhat annoying joke, and to rag someone is to annoy or harass them. The phrase "from rags to riches" describes a classic and deeply satisfying storyline: the tale of a poor person who becomes gloriously rich.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rag ragged ragging

“There’s a real underbelly of this vintage game with rag houses getting access to bulk product overseas and letting people sort through it,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

WHP Global is home to brands like rag & bone, G-Star, and Vera Wang.

From Barron's ● May 14, 2026

“You were in the rag trade, but then your child or grandchild moved up and created this civic and philanthropic energy that came from that feeling of America as a refuge. That is really powerful.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

They likened the way images of the young women were changed to "a rag doll brought to life through the dark arts".

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026

She dropped her rag in her bucket and turned to find Clara watching her.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Now, those taxpayer millions are peeling off and floating away in ragged, aquamarine chunks.

From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026

Comma butterflies, with their distinctively ragged wing edges, have recovered in numbers since the survey began.

From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026

This wasn’t “an argument between genteel parties in Congress,” William Hogeland writes in his history, The Whiskey Rebellion, “but…a guerrilla war on the country’s ragged margin, our first war for the American soul.”

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

The government blamed the disorder on a ragged retreat by the Syrian Democratic Forces that left the camp unguarded for hours and made it difficult to re-establish security.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

His great shock of bright yellow hair burst out in all directions, like a ragged sun.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

Guys hitting massive sixes, guys bowling rapid and spinners ragging it.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

The Gallagher brothers have made a bit of a sport out of ragging on each other in the press.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2025

We’ve all spent so much time ragging on Twitter and not really liking Twitter.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2022

They would be ragging me the whole game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2019

He was always ragging Revere about falling off horses.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Related Words

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