riot
Americannoun
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riots
plural
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a noisy, violent public disorder caused by a group or crowd of persons, as by a crowd protesting against another group, a government policy, etc., in the streets.
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Law. a disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons acting together in a disrupting and tumultuous manner in carrying out their private purposes.
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violent or wild disorder or confusion.
- Synonyms:
- disturbance, tumult, uproar
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a brilliant display.
a riot of color.
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something or someone hilariously funny.
You were a riot at the party.
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unrestrained revelry.
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an unbridled outbreak, as of emotions, passions, etc.
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Archaic. loose, wanton living; profligacy.
verb (used without object)
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riots,
present (3rd person singular)
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rioted,
past participle, past
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rioting
present participle
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to take part in a riot or disorderly public outbreak.
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to live in a loose or wanton manner; indulge in unrestrained revelry.
Many of the Roman emperors rioted notoriously.
- Synonyms:
- carouse
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Hunting. (of a hound or pack) to pursue an animal other than the intended quarry.
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to indulge unrestrainedly; run riot.
verb (used with object)
-
riots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rioted,
past participle, past
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rioting
present participle
idioms
noun
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a disturbance made by an unruly mob or (in law) three or more persons; tumult or uproar
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( as modifier )
a riot gun
riot police
a riot shield
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boisterous activity; unrestrained revelry
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an occasion of boisterous merriment
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slang a person who occasions boisterous merriment
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a dazzling or arresting display
a riot of colour
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hunting the indiscriminate following of any scent by hounds
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archaic wanton lasciviousness
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to behave wildly and without restraint
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(of plants) to grow rankly or profusely
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verb
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(intr) to take part in a riot
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(intr) to indulge in unrestrained revelry or merriment
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to spend (time or money) in wanton or loose living
he has rioted away his life
Usage
What does riot mean? A riot is a situation in which people in a crowd are engaging in violence and/or destruction in the streets or another public space. Riots often involve two or more groups fighting, or one group causing destruction. Riot can also be used as a verb meaning to participate in a riot. Members of the crowd who do this can be called rioters. The word rioting can be used as both a verb and a noun. Violent protests are sometimes called riots. But the term riot is often extremely loaded and used in a way that’s intended to be dismissive of protests and portray protesters as lawless, destructive, or violent. Specifically, the term has been frequently used to portray African American protesters in this way, such as during mass demonstrations. For example, one may try to discredit a protest by calling it a riot or to discredit protesters by calling them rioters. This especially happens when people conflate a protest with other things happening around it, such as looting. The word riot is also used in a much different way to refer to something very funny, especially in the phrase laugh riot. The term implies that it results in intense, unrestrained laughter. Example: The riot outside the stadium left dozens of people injured, along with widespread damage to cars in the parking lot.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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counterrioternoun
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nonrioternoun
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rioternoun
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riotingnoun
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antiriotadjective
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nonriotingadjective
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unriotingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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riotsimple
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riotssimple
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have riotedperfect
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has riotedperfect
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am riotingprogressive
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are riotingprogressive
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is riotingprogressive
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have been riotingperfect progressive
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has been riotingperfect progressive
Past
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riotedsimple
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had riotedperfect
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was riotingprogressive
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were riotingprogressive
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had been riotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of riot
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English: debauchery, revel, violent disturbance < Old French riot ( e ) debate, dispute, quarrel, derivative of rihoter, riot ( t ) er to quarrel; (v.) Middle English rioten < Old French rihoter, riot ( t ) er
Explanation
A riot is a violent outburst by a crowd. When the principal didn't declare a snow day, even with five inches on the ground already, students rioted, gathering outside and throwing snowballs. The meaning of riot has stretched over the years. You would say "She is a riot" about a funny or outrageous person. A loud clothing combination might represent a riot of texture and color. When something runs riot, it has been allowed to get out of control.
Vocabulary lists containing riot
"The Sporting Spirit"
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Schooled
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"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia, List 1
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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:
If the network threatened to pull the plug on a given cable operator over fee negotiations, sports-mad subscribers would practically riot in the streets!
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The designer Maruti Evans illustrates the contrast effectively, the icy marble and barren trees of Sicilia transformed into a riot of colorful flora.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
It said soldiers had entered a house in the village to search for suspects throwing stones, and separately, that they had detained one person taking part in what it called a "violent riot".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
One young woman calmly reapplied her lipstick in front of a line of riot police.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
His master indeed forbade him from leaving his quarters on Sunday nights, for fear that in preaching of equality before the Lord on High, Isaac might incite riot on Earth.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Their 1981 hit Ghost Town, widely regarded as a classic, captured the social unrest and economic decline of the time, becoming the soundtrack to riots that swept across England during that summer.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
“There were demonstrations in the streets, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, drug revolutions, sex revolutions, riots, race riots. So we thought, what a good time to go out and do Black and white comedy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Indeed, what now looks like nightly riots began with reports of maggot-infested and spoiled food.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
People suffered and worked endlessly, but after the riots, they realized that the lives they had been living in America were not truly immigrant lives in the full sense.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
Even though the riots stopped, we pass as many tanks as we pass lowriders.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
When prisoners rioted over the conditions, their eloquent spokesman Jones was extensively quoted in the press, catching the attention of a church leader.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
Dunn said officers wanted acknowledgment for those members of law enforcement who were present at the insurrection, as well as accountability from those who rioted.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2025
In October 1962, federal marshals escorted Meredith as he enrolled as the first Black student at the University of Mississippi, while white people rioted on the Oxford campus.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 26, 2023
Caught between the collapse of wages and the loss of land, peasants rioted across Europe.
From Scientific American ● May 31, 2023
At night, they rioted in protest of the trip through the desert.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Between them they faced 52 charges, including rioting, which were all denied.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
"Our officers have a role to facilitate and accommodate peaceful protest," he said, while cautioning against a repeat of widespread anti-immigrant rioting last June.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
They would be elderly people rioting, but they would still riot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
Western diplomats in Damascus assessed that more than 20,000 people fled the camp in a matter of days earlier amid rioting and a surge of escape attempts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
If it weren’t for my rioting heart, I’d swear I’d left my body.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
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.
