riffraff

American  

[rif-raf] / ˈrɪfˌræf /

noun

• riffraffs
  plural

1. people, or a group of people, regarded as disreputable or worthless.

   a pack of riffraff.

2. the lowest classes; rabble.

   the riffraff of the city.

3. trash; rubbish.

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adjective

1. worthless, disreputable, or trashy.

riffraff British  

/ ˈrɪfˌræf /

noun

1. worthless people, esp collectively; rabble

2. dialect worthless rubbish

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• riffraffs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of riffraff

1425–75; late Middle English rif and raf every particle, things of small value < Old French rif et raf, formed on rifler to spoil ( see rifle ²), raffler to ravage, snatch away

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Explanation

Use the word riffraff when you refer in a snide way to common or lower-class people as a group. A snob might refuse to stay at a party if he thinks it's full of riffraff. You're only going to use riffraff in a joking way, unless you truly consider yourself part of a small, elite, superior segment of humanity. An obnoxious, arrogant character in a movie might tell her chauffeur, "Jeeves, pull around the corner. I don't want to walk through that crowd of riffraff." Before the fifteenth century, the term was rif and raf, which meant both "everybody," and "sweepings."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

riffraff riffraffs

Powerful teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Liverpool thought they could exclude the riffraff clubs and create an exclusive, lucrative upper league that would thrill their fans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The first half of the film finds our riffraff joining forces to escape Valentina’s death trap; the second is a parable about mental illness where the metaphors take command over the plot.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025

He has some friends — acquaintances, really — whom he hates, mentally labeling them “the riffraff, the vulgarians, the slobs.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

Just before the riots he had also responded to a rowdy reception committee in one banlieue by calling them racaille - riffraff.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2023

‘At least we are all safe, and if only Papa is well and ...’ ‘I’m going back to Milton, Miss, to get that silver before the riffraff steal it.’

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

We pull up to a parking lot where you have to pay to leave your car and guards watch it to make sure no riffraffs come in and try to jack it from you.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

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