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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

Lohman-Janz created enamel pins and hosts raffles to encourage members to keep coming out.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2025

They have held auctions, organized raffles and invited influencers to participate in promotional clips.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2024

She has now set up a fundraiser and raffles to try and raise enough money for roof and kitchen repairs which she was told would cost around £30,000.

From BBC • Oct. 28, 2023

In other attempted gimmicks, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is entering donors into raffles for Major League Soccer games or free tuition payments.

From Slate • Jul. 24, 2023

Aureliano Segundo was so busy trying to maintain the prestige of his raffles that he barely had time to see the children.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez