Showing results for "raffles"

• present tense form of raffle (3rd person singular).

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

raffles Raffles

It raffles off free Cane’s for a year to a “Lucky 20” customers who show up within the first few hours of an opening, offering Caniacs another reason to camp outside in the parking lot.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

These might include old-school offerings like block parties, back-to-school events, give-aways and raffles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

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

He offered Seabiscuit mementoes for newspaper raffles and sent oversized Seabiscuit Christmas cards to scores of reporters.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

The sliver of a country—176 square miles, the smallest in Africa—is stacked with luxury out-posts, including two Four Seasons, Raffles, Six Senses, Waldorf Astoria and Cheval Blanc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 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 most popular colonial site is the Raffles Hotel, which was founded in 1887 and soon expanded to its current neo-Renaissance grandeur.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025

A winner of the Thyestes Chase then Bobbyjo Chase, where Intense Raffles was runner-up, but that rival better off at the weights here.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2025

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

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