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

Example Sentences

“They really sound like this out-of-tune rabble, and you hear what maybe other people might have heard,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

That must be a factor in their inconsistency, but I don't think it will matter here because Wolves have been such a rabble recently.

From BBC

Mr Holt said Mr Jones was "rabble rousing" a crowd which has been described as "tens of thousands" in size.

From BBC

The rest of the set balanced her competing impulses: rock chick, singer-songwriter, rabble rouser, strident feminist, heartfelt balladeer.

From BBC

With “one black, one white, one blonde,” as the show’s tagline, “the rabble on the wrong side of the law was now the law,” said television critic Lorraine Ali in 2018.

From Los Angeles Times