Jazz. a melodic phrase, often constantly repeated, forming an accompaniment or part of an accompaniment for a soloist.
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.
Jazz. to perform a repeated melodic phrase, forming an accompaniment for a soloist.
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.
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.
(intr) to play or perform riffs in jazz or rock music
informal to speak amusingly or make (amusing comments or remarks)
First recorded in 1930–35; perhaps alteration and shortening of refrain 2
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
You can almost hear the eagles scream, guitars riff and engines rev.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
On the track’s instrumental break, the band channels a riff from the 1944 hit “Opus One.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Wells’ classic story was one of the first mainstream studio films to riff on America’s post-9/11 anxiety, where characters assumed the widespread panic was the work of terrorists.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Monty Norman's surf guitar riff and John Barry's sweeping orchestral scores spawned an entire genre of spy music – full of minor key suspense and piercing stabs of trumpet.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 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
Lawyers in the case are expected to go in front of Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff Monday for a hearing on the request.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff, who approved the protective order, said Thursday that he wasn’t ready to give the county the green light.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 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
He put on this Riff Raff-style accent he didn’t have at school.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
The source of Krim's remarkable wealth was declared to be certain valuable mineral deposits in the Riff, which are allegedly worked by women when the fighting male Riffi are at the front.
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
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
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
"They are Riffi people—let them go," said Muley in Arabic.
From The Angel of Terror by Wallace, Edgar
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
Riffs on life and love in prose and comic strip form, from the author of The Time Traveler’s Wife and her graphic artist husband.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 6, 2018
I saw the Riffs who were in the Soko pass by.
From Bye-Ways by Hichens, Robert Smythe
There just aren’t that many memorable riffs, and the ones that are here don’t hit as hard as they could thanks to the overstuffed production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The company has tried to offer more products beyond jeans — such as dresses, blouses and other items geared toward women — as well as modern riffs on old favorites like 501s.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
C.K. riffs at length about the bags under his eyes, the existential terror of waking up and the absurdity of putting his father in a retirement home.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
But he's just as comfortable ceding the spotlight to Little Simz, or chuckling as he trades riffs with flautist Ajay Prasanna.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
A high-pitched howl wailed over frenetic guitar riffs, followed by booming drums.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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
So no one should think this was just Sotomayor riffing off the cuff.
From Slate ● Apr. 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
Snoop will join NBC Olympics host Mike Tirico in Italy in February, riffing on stories that unfold at the Winter Games the way he did at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026
So, of course, they kicked it off with James Austin Johnson riffing in his Donald Trump impersonation by himself.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025
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.
