Military. a reduction in the personnel of an armed service or unit.
a reduction in the number of persons employed by a business, government department, etc., especially for budgetary reasons.
a member of a Berber people, inhabiting the Atlas Mountains in Morocco
Also called: Rifian. Riffian. the dialect of Berber spoken by this people
See Er Rif
First recorded in 1945–50; special use of RIF
R(eduction) I(n) F(orce)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Riff-raff.—The refuse of anything, "Il ne lui lairra rif ny raf."
From Notes and Queries, Number 208, October 22, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Bell, George
Cotgrave in Rif, where rif is said to mean nothing.
From Notes and Queries, Number 208, October 22, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Bell, George
Philippe of Macedoyne kyng Two Sones hadde be his wif, Whos fame is yit in Grece rif: Demetrius the ferste brother Was hote, and Perse.s that other.
From Confessio Amantis, or, Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins by Macaulay, G. C. (George Campbell)
The Education Department said it will use a reduction in force process, known colloquially as a Rif, to reduce staffing levels.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2025
The earthquake is Morocco's deadliest since a 2004 tremor near Al Hoceima in the northern Rif mountains killed over 600 people.
From Reuters ● Sep. 9, 2023
"Despite everything, I am proud of our team," Inas, an English teacher from Rif, who wore a Moroccan national team shirt, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2022
“Once here, many will have to face the complexity of life in Israel for non-Jewish migrants,” said Alex Rif, a Ukrainian-born poet and an advocate for Russian speakers in Israel.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
Bark.—This is a monopoly of the north, principally of the mountainous region of Rif.
From Travels in Morocco, Volume 1. by Richardson, James
The filing also said that 20 to 30 at the Environmental Protection Agency were issued "intent to RIF" notice on Friday, notifying them that they may be affected in the future.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
“My own staff is largely getting news of GSA’s activities from the press, from a Reddit thread titled ‘GSA RIF Megathread’ — you’ll never hear me say that again — and occasionally from ex-GSA employees.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025
“Members of the RIF would not have participated” in the killing without his consent, according to the report.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2021
Send “we the people” a message with RIF notices to half.
From Washington Times ● May 15, 2020
Refusing to treat patients who have experienced repeated implantation failure—the dreaded RIF in fertility circles—can also artificially boost success rates.
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2014
President Donald Trump riffed on his White House predecessors in a children's podcast Friday, while also joking about his weight and musing as to whether his body is swimsuit-ready.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Of these, three were based on, or riffed on, proven material—as did “Versailles” and “Beaches.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Bono has, for decades, riffed on this concept: “America isn’t just a country, it’s an idea.”
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026
The most painful moment may have been the concluding “Sports Matters” segment, where Meier riffed with co-host Dave Martin while holding packets of paper from which they were clearly and awkwardly reading.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2025
Bobby Gene and I riffed about it all the way down the block.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
A Taco Bell X post last week riffing on the joys of “spiritually sitting in a taco bell parking lot at sunset” was met with poop emojis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
So no one should think this was just Sotomayor riffing off the cuff.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2026
“We don’t have a permit,” cracked host Ego Nwodim, riffing on scrappy independent tactics in her monologue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026
Instead, they went straight to the studio, riffing on their shared love of The Cure, Oasis and - rather brilliantly - the Alessi Brothers' 1976 soft rock classic Seabird.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
We stepped easy, riffing with Styx about our new plan.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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.
