riffraff

American  

[rif-raf] / ˈrɪfˌræf /

noun

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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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

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

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

Indeed, this “savage,” as Shakespeare took pains to note in his complicated depiction of Caliban, is a good deal more civilized than the drunken riffraff with whom he falls into cahoots.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2023

After all, someone’s gotta clear out the riffraff and the scammers, right?

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2023

In late October, President Miguel Díaz-Canel called for a crackdown on the practice, referring to the revendedores as “criminals, swindlers, riffraff, the lazy and the corrupt.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2022

‘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