rabble

1
[ rab-uh l ]
/ ˈræb əl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR rabble ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a disorderly crowd; mob.
the rabble, the lower classes; the common people: The nobility held the rabble in complete contempt.

verb (used with object), rab·bled, rab·bling.

to beset as a rabble does; mob.

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Origin of rabble

1
1350–1400; Middle English rabel (noun), of uncertain origin

Words nearby rabble

rabbiter, rabbitfish, rabbiting, rabbitoh, rabbitry, rabble, rabble-rouse, rabble-rouser, rabble-rousing, rabblement, rabe

Definition for rabble (2 of 2)

rabble2
[ rab-uh l ]
/ ˈræb əl /
Metallurgy

noun

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

verb (used with object), rab·bled, rab·bling.

to stir (a charge) in a roasting furnace.

Origin of rabble

2
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

OTHER WORDS FROM rabble

rab·bler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to rabble

gathering, horde, riot, proletariat, crowd, masses, throng, herd, riffraff, commonality, mass, gang, scum, flock, drove, ring, multitude, pack

Example sentences from the Web for rabble

British Dictionary definitions for rabble (1 of 2)

rabble1
/ (ˈræbəl) /

noun

a disorderly crowd; mob
the rabble derogatory the common people

Word Origin for rabble

C14 (in the sense: a pack of animals): of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Middle Dutch rabbelen to chatter, rattle

British Dictionary definitions for rabble (2 of 2)

rabble2
/ (ˈræbəl) /

noun

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

verb

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

Word Origin for rabble

C17: from French râble, from Latin rutābulum rake for a furnace, from ruere to rake, dig up
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012