rabble

¹ American  

[rab-uhl] / ˈræb əl /

noun

1. a disorderly crowd; mob.

2. the rabble, the lower classes; the common people.

   The nobility held the rabble in complete contempt.

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verb (used with object)

rabbled, rabbling

1. to beset as a rabble does; mob.

rabble ² American  

[rab-uhl] / ˈræb əl /

noun

1. a tool or mechanically operated device used for stirring or mixing a charge in a roasting furnace.

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verb (used with object)

rabbled, rabbling

1. to stir (a charge) in a roasting furnace.

rabble ¹ British  

/ ˈræbəl /

noun

1. a disorderly crowd; mob

2. derogatory the common people

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rabble ² British  

/ ˈræbəl /

noun

1. Also called: rabbler.  an iron tool or mechanical device for stirring, mixing, or skimming a molten charge in a roasting furnace

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verb

1. (tr) to stir, mix, or skim (the molten charge) in a roasting furnace

Other Word Forms

• rabbler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of rabble¹

1350–1400; Middle English rabel (noun), of uncertain origin

Origin of rabble²

1655–65; < French râble fire-shovel, tool, Middle French raable < Latin rutābulum implement for shifting hot coals, equivalent to *rutā ( re ) presumed frequentative of ruere to churn up, disturb + -bulum suffix of instrument

Explanation

A rabble is a noisy gathering of people. The police might arrive to calm the rabble that crowds the sidewalks after a huge win for the local football team. You can use the noun rabble for any mob of angry or excited people, whether it's a political gathering or a rowdy celebration. Rabble also means "commoners," but it's a snobby and somewhat offensive way to talk about ordinary folks: "The king preferred to stay inside his castle, far away from the rabble." Originally, rabble meant "pack of animals."

Example Sentences

Roach says Rabble is on track to make its first profit in 2017.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2016

The rebel who by 1967 had earned a spot on the FBI’s Rabble Rouser Index would later spend the bulk of his public life trying to change the system from within.

From Washington Post • Oct. 24, 2016

Their self-styled ultras, The Rabble, throws its weight behind politically liberal and invariably worthy local causes, including a food bank and the campaign to pay employees at Brixton’s Ritzy cinema the living wage.

From The Guardian • Nov. 6, 2015

Rabble roused, folks weighed in on the sandwich that gives a good name to the words "fast food" and commonly costs less than a Big Mac.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 4, 2011

Enter Mustapha, Captain of the Rabble, with his followers of the Black Guard, &c. and other Moors; With them a Company of Portuguese Slaves, without any of the chief Persons.

From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 07 by Scott, Walter, Sir