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• raffles
  raffles

  noun

  a gentlemanly burglar, amateur housebreaker, or the like.
• Raffles
  Raffles

  noun

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

raffles

¹ American  

[raf-uhlz] / ˈræf əlz /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

1. a gentlemanly burglar, amateur housebreaker, or the like.

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Raffles ² American  

[raf-uhlz] / ˈræf əlz /

noun

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

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Raffles British  

/ ˈræfəlz /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of raffles

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

Example Sentences

She told Williams: "If we started in Singapore, we'd go straight to Raffles, have a few cocktails, and we'd be on the next plane home."

From BBC • May 25, 2026

Raffles Medical is also unlikely to be affected as its integrated healthcare system would drive its own patient flow, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

As always with these assignments, we had limited time but thankfully we were shooting at the wonderful Raffles in London and Luis, Catherine and Jenna were so wonderful.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

The best spots are already taken by a Pullman, a Raffles, and other luxury hotels.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 29, 2023

In the early nineteenth century Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, while supervising the British occupation of Java sent two gamelan sets back to Britain, housed today in the British Museum.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall