rif
verb (used with object)
to discharge (a person) from military or civil service, especially as part of an economy program.
rif
1 American
[rif]
/ rɪf /
Or
riff
verb (used with object)
Informal.
riffed,
riffing
Rif
2
American
[rif]
/ rɪf /
Or
Riff
noun
RIF
3
American
[rif]
/ rɪf /
noun
-
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.
Rif
British
/ rɪf /
noun
-
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
Etymology
Origin of rif1
First recorded in 1945–50; special use of RIF
Origin of RIF3
R(eduction) I(n) F(orce)
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:
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 George Bell
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 G. C. (George Campbell) Macaulay
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 George Bell
Fighters form the Berber community resisted this, most notoriously in the long and bloody Rif War between 1921 and 1926, which saw the Spanish army decimated by forces led by Abdelkrim al-Khattabi.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2023
It was Morocco's deadliest since at least a 2004 tremor in the northern Rif mountains that 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
The Cinéma Rif — an Art Deco movie theater beautifully restored by the Moroccan visual artist Yto Barrada.
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2022
Rif, a Berber tongue, was the first language.
From Border, Breed Nor Birth by Mack Reynolds
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
Mr. Cicilline will replace current RIF President Neil D. Steinberg, who will step down once his successor starts.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 21, 2023
“Members of the RIF would not have participated” in the killing without his consent, according to the report.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2021
So it makes sense when you see a crowd gather around the Free Range L.A. food truck, parked outside the RIF sneaker shop in Little Tokyo on Wednesdays.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2016
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
Bono has, for decades, riffed on this concept: “America isn’t just a country, it’s an idea.”
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026
On TikTok, people have riffed on and parodied the playful lyrics endlessly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
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
The audience instantly understands that this is Schoenbrun riffing on their own intellectually minded approach, and that Kris is a self-insert character for the movie’s writer-director.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
The bar is decorated with references to China's AI boom, with logos of the country's major labs on the walls and the menu full of jokes riffing on tech jargon.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Giving it three stars, she says the overall feeling was that the show "did work", with some "proper jokes for grown-ups" especially in the Weekend Update section riffing on the news.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 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
He was riffing about on his acoustic guitar.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
