riff
noun
a melodic phrase, often constantly repeated, forming an accompaniment or part of an accompaniment for a soloist.
Showing results for "riff"
- a variation of rif.
riff
1 American
[rif]
/ rɪf /
noun
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riffs
plural
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Jazz. a melodic phrase, often constantly repeated, forming an accompaniment or part of an accompaniment for a soloist.
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a new variation on or a different manifestation of an existing thing or idea (often followed byon ).
This is an eco-conscious riff on the study-abroad experience.
verb (used without object)
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riffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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riffed,
past participle, past
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riffing
present participle
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Jazz. to perform a repeated melodic phrase, forming an accompaniment for a soloist.
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to experiment with a thing or idea, making changes that create a new and novel version of it (often followed byon ).
My partner likes to let his ideas quietly simmer, but I prefer to riff on mine in conversations where I can bounce my thoughts off other people.
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to create, write, or perform something, like a comedy routine, using a common or known point of departure and following a previously unexplored tangent from that known point to a fresh or humorous perspective (often followed by on oroff ).
My act riffs off famous love stories and adds modern feminist elements to unmask the absurdity of “happily ever after” in fairy tales.
riff
British
/ rɪf /
noun
verb
-
(intr) to play or perform riffs in jazz or rock music
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informal to speak amusingly or make (amusing comments or remarks)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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riffsimple
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riffssimple
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have riffedperfect
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has riffedperfect
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am riffingprogressive
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are riffingprogressive
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is riffingprogressive
-
have been riffingperfect progressive
-
has been riffingperfect progressive
Past
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riffedsimple
-
had riffedperfect
-
was riffingprogressive
-
were riffingprogressive
-
had been riffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of riff
First recorded in 1930–35; perhaps alteration and shortening of refrain 2
Explanation
A riff is a short section of music, especially in jazz. When you're first learning to play the saxophone, you may just play the same riff over and over. When one jazz musician in a band is improvising, the others are typically playing riffs in the background. Sometimes a riff introduces the start of a song or its chorus. To play this section is also to riff, and you can also talk about improvised speech using riff: "The stand-up comic decided to riff on the subject of his mom, since it was the only joke that was getting any laughs."
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:
Anna Gibbs suggests that the song could be a riff on the loaded history of this term.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026
Liam's riff on Mick Jagger's creaking limbs is worth the price of admission alone.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
“I used to be pure,” he sings over the crunchy riff, continuing, “I just try to be good now.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
There’s something slippery about the riff — it takes a second to figure out where the one is.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
He was going to riff on the man who’d shaved in front of a Rembrandt.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
You’ve got to stop this thing’?” questioned Riff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
“We have the county of Los Angeles with its county counsel’s office, which is a very substantial and sophisticated office, telling me this payment program should go forward,” Riff said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
“It is not for me to fact-check for the county,” she told Judge Lawrence Riff at a court hearing Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
Baum, the outside attorney defending the county, told Riff he wanted to ensure the clients didn’t “have their hands in two cookie jars.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
"I could ask her what kind of a jam they think they've gotten into in the Riff."
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
He said that the hearts of loyal Riffi are so constructed that they could not possibly turn from Krim to "the French sultan."
From Time Magazine Archive
The Riffi were said to suffer terribly through a lack of anesthetics.
From Time Magazine Archive
He said that not even Abd-El-Krim can disarm the Riffi, since each cleaves to his rifle as to his wife.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then, in the latter year, came their astounding expedition at the head of 5,000 Riffi which surprised, captured and disarmed 20,000 Spaniards under General Navarro.
From Time Magazine Archive
Riffi, the little tailor, recalled the words of his wife Sapience: "Riffi, you will get yourself crippled, and it will serve you right."
From The Invasion of France in 1814 by Alexandre Chatrian
Riffs included a board spread with whipped cream cheese and topped with berries and jam, with bagels for dipping, and goat cheese with savory crackers.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 21, 2022
And while some might call it cheap clickbait, we have a vision for what’s next: a Second 100 Days of Riffs on the Second-Degree Amendment Process in the Senate.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2021
Riffs on identity and 100 years of the Huntington Library.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2019
Just how many original riffs using E Pentatonic Power chords & Riffs can there possibly be to slam?
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2018
They saw no reason for aiding a despotic government in subduing and oppressing a small people fighting for their independence, as did the brave Riffs.
From Anarchism and Other Essays by Emma Goldman
An explosive surge of energy as the opening synth riffs of Fantastic Baby shatter the stadium air.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
The badass riffs in this particular case are courtesy of Roman Morello, the 15-year-old son of our interviewee, who joined his dad’s band when he was 13.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
The album is loaded with Anthrax trademarks — serrated, crunchy riffs, soaring lead vocals, bludgeoning beats, and scorching guitar — but there are also galactic noise effects, angular song structures and atypical chord configurations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Ballet flats are back in vogue, and that’s prompted some unlikely companies to hop on the bandwagon with their own riffs on the classic shoe silhouette.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
He’d play off of their riffs and not on top of them, unless they played a tidal wave of chords where everyone jammed together.
From "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" by Rita Williams-Garcia
“Poltergeist” was, notably, a summertime Amblin release that similarly riffed on classic creature scares — updating dusty, old ghost tropes with new ideas — much like Mitchell does with his dino-time-travel extravaganza.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
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
A third riffed off the album title: “New York all the time. Other places, occasionally.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026
On TikTok, people have riffed on and parodied the playful lyrics endlessly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
Magic Jay, Jimmy L’s secret agent name, was riffed from his favorite basketball player, the legendary Magic Johnson.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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
The director said: "As Ryan started talking about his vision for this character, we started riffing, and I finally said, 'bro, let's ride', so guys, we'll see you in 2028."
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 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.
