rags
Britishplural noun
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torn, old, or shabby clothing
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cotton or linen cloth waste used in the manufacture of rag paper
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informal
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from poverty to great wealth
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( as modifier )
a rags-to-riches tale
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informal best clothes; finery
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.
With the mayor’s vocal support, Mr. Bratton put broken-windows policing to work, arresting “squeegee men” who smeared dirty rags across motorists’ windshields, holding them hostage for a “contribution.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
That he hails from such a region has fuelled the rags to riches aspect of his story.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
If your social-worker friend envies your designer clothes, you don’t have to ditch your Prada for rags, but it’s probably better not to festoon your outfit with your biggest diamond.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
The tighter scope and folksy approach — from a score with more spare acoustic guitar than sweeping orchestral numbers and an abundance of drab peasant rags over plush regal garb — is refreshing, at first.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026
At night, she snuck out of the house with rags to wash his cuts, and gave him food and water.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
