ragpicker

American

[rag-pik-er] / ˈrægˌpɪk ər /

noun

a person who picks up rags and other waste material from the streets, refuse heaps, etc., for a livelihood.

Etymology

Origin of ragpicker

First recorded in 1855–60; rag ¹ + picker

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

ragpicker

Lou Gilbert isa gentle ragpicker on the Manhattan waterfront whose attempt to help a girl leads to his own destruction in Across the River.

From Time Magazine Archive

She likes to dress like a ragpicker; the baron makes her buy the latest imported fineries.

From Time Magazine Archive

Employment: ragpicker, scrap metal dealer, entrepreneur, double agent.

From Time Magazine Archive

A Tribune story in 1936 showed a ragpicker in a gutter scooping up Roosevelt buttons which Party workers presumably could not persuade anybody to wear.

From Time Magazine Archive

A ragpicker, who was collecting scrap paper to recycle, pulled some old da-zi-bao off the wall and happened to tear the newspaper that was posted underneath.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023