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.
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
First recorded in 1945–50; special use of RIF
R(eduction) I(n) F(orce)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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 Macaulay, G. C. (George Campbell)
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 Bell, George
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 Bell, George
The Education Department said it will use a reduction in force process, known colloquially as a Rif, to reduce staffing levels.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2025
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
The trade is also highly competitive, with family members in Rif often running up against each other, according to Khalid Mouna, a prominent researcher in Morocco’s cannabis economy.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 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
Grabert estimates the population at 10,000, including 2,500 Jews, who live intermixed with the Moors; 1,400 negroes, 300 Berbers of Rif, and about 100 Christians.
From Travels in Morocco, Volume 1. by Richardson, James
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
“Members of the RIF would not have participated” in the killing without his consent, according to the report.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2021
Send “we the people” a message with RIF notices to half.
From Washington Times ● May 15, 2020
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
At a crypto event in June, a video that riffed on an old movie showed Tenev speeding through the French Riviera in a convertible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 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
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
So no one should think this was just Sotomayor riffing off the cuff.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 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
Unwittingly, these new Art Deco-like creations, in formally riffing on what came before, reveal the shortcomings of the original movement—and, somehow, of the show itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
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.
