ragtag

American  

[rag-tag] / ˈrægˌtæg /

adjective

1. ragged rag ragged or shabby; disheveled.

2. made up of mixed, often diverse, elements.

   a ragtag crowd.

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ragtag British  

/ ˈræɡˌtæɡ /

noun

1. derogatory the common people; rabble (esp in the phrase ragtag and bobtail )

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Etymology

Origin of ragtag

First recorded in 1880–85; rag ¹ + tag ¹

Example Sentences

Relatives said they now believe the ragtag group’s mission was doomed from the start.

From The Wall Street Journal

How this proudly low-budget effort managed to license those tunes is as curious as so much else in this ragtag oddity.

From Los Angeles Times

The Brooklyn Mirage became one of the most celebrated dance venues in North America after two ragtag party promoters from Switzerland started hosting dance parties in industrial Brooklyn.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Since then, I have to tell you that I sleep more peacefully,” Alcalá, who once tried to lead his own ragtag coup against Maduro, said in a telephone interview from his medium-security facility in Maryland.

From The Wall Street Journal

Team USA wasn’t a ragtag group, but the nation’s very best, the product of generations of elite domestic development and the game’s widening geography.

From The Wall Street Journal