rag

¹ American  

[rag] / ræg /

noun

1. a worthless piece of cloth, especially one that is torn or worn.

2. rags, ragged or tattered clothing.

   The tramp was dressed in rags.

3. any article of apparel regarded deprecatingly or self-deprecatingly, especially a dress.

   It's just an old rag I had in the closet.

4. a shred, scrap, or fragmentary bit of anything.

5. Informal.

   1. something of very low value or in very poor condition.

   2. a newspaper or magazine regarded with contempt or distaste.

      Are you still subscribing to that rag?

6. a person of shabby or exhausted appearance.

7. a large roofing slate that has one edge untrimmed.

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idioms

1. chew the rag. chew.

2. from rags to riches, from extreme poverty to great wealth.

   He went from rags to riches in only three years.

rag ² American  

[rag] / ræg /

verb (used without object)

ragged, ragging

1. to subject a person to teasing or scolding, especially in an intense or prolonged way (usually followed byon ).

   Some of the boys were ragging on him about his haircut.

2. to criticize a person or thing (usually followed byon ): I wish reviewers would stop ragging on the movie.

   He rags and whines to me instead of fixing the problem.

   I wish reviewers would stop ragging on the movie.

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verb (used with object)

ragged, ragging

1. to subject to teasing or scolding, especially in an intense or prolonged way.

   He was ragged at school for not joining a sports team.

2. to criticize.

3. British. to torment with jokes; play crude practical jokes on.

noun

1. British. an act of ragging; a cruel or crude practical joke.

rag ³ American  

[rag] / ræg /

verb (used with object)

ragged, ragging

1. to break up (lumps of ore) for sorting.

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rag ⁴ American  

[rag] / ræg /

noun

1. a musical composition in ragtime.

   a piano rag.

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verb (used with object)

ragged, ragging

1. to play (music) in ragtime.

rag ¹ British  

/ ræɡ /

noun

1. 1. a small piece of cloth, such as one torn from a discarded garment, or such pieces of cloth collectively

   2. ( as modifier )

      a rag doll

      a rag book

      rag paper

2. a fragmentary piece of any material; scrap; shred

3. informal a newspaper or other journal, esp one considered as worthless, sensational, etc

4. informal an item of clothing

5. informal a handkerchief

6. slang nautical a flag or ensign

7. to lose one's temper suddenly

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rag ² British  

/ ræɡ /

verb

1. to draw attention facetiously and persistently to the shortcomings or alleged shortcomings of (a person)

2. to play rough practical jokes on

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noun

1. a boisterous practical joke, esp one on a fellow student

2. 1. a period, usually a week, in which various events are organized to raise money for charity, including a procession of decorated floats and tableaux

   2. ( as modifier )

      rag day

rag ³ British  

/ ræɡ /

noun

1. a piece of ragtime music

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verb

1. (tr) to compose or perform in ragtime

rag ⁴ British  

/ ræɡ /

noun

1. a roofing slate that is rough on one side

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rag More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rag

• chew the fat (rag)
• from rags to riches
• glad rags
• run ragged

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Etymology

Origin of rag¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English ragge, from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian, Swedish ragg “coarse hair,” from Old Norse rǫgg

Origin of rag²

First recorded in 1735–40; origin uncertain

Origin of rag³

First recorded in 1870–75; origin uncertain

Origin of rag⁴

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortened form of ragtime

Explanation

A torn bit of old fabric is a rag. You might use a rag to dust the bookshelf or scrub the bathtub, but you wouldn't want to wear one. If your clothes are torn and dirty, they're also rags, and from the sense of "worthless scrap," trashy or low quality newspapers have also long been called rags. A rag is also a somewhat annoying joke, and to rag someone is to annoy or harass them. The phrase "from rags to riches" describes a classic and deeply satisfying storyline: the tale of a poor person who becomes gloriously rich.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rag ragged ragging

Trail hunting was introduced after the Hunting Act 2004 as an alternative to hounds chasing foxes and involves using an animal-scented rag.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

"It is going to be red rag to a bull for her - she is not going to be happy," said former British number one Annabel Croft on BBC Radio 5 Live.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The “big rag doll” came in with health problems but was the perfect shop cat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

“You were in the rag trade, but then your child or grandchild moved up and created this civic and philanthropic energy that came from that feeling of America as a refuge. That is really powerful.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

Beneath the shadowing shawl her head was tied up with a rag – to keep her dead jaw from dropping in one final gape.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Leaving the crunchy, ragged edges on the paper, we stuffed our notice of intent into an envelope.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

There are parts of the island you’re not allowed to photograph, “secure zones” consisting of dilapidated military buildings topped with ragged, sun-bleached Albanian flags.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

Norris took pole with a lap right on the ragged edge.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

The elderly people across the street are trapped inside with no supplies; the one woman who had the bad judgment to go jogging, pre-enclosure, comes back ragged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

When you look at the moon through a telescope you cannot see mountains, but the ragged terminator indicates that mountains are there.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Guys hitting massive sixes, guys bowling rapid and spinners ragging it.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

We’ve all spent so much time ragging on Twitter and not really liking Twitter.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2022

I've spent quite a bit of time ragging on "The Witcher," but I'd be remiss not to mention some things that the show is doing right.

From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2022

They would be ragging me the whole game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2019

I wasn't too worried about the car—I was just ragging on him for old times' sake.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

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