rogues' gallery

American  

noun

1. a collection of portraits of criminals and suspects maintained by the police for purposes of identification.

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rogues' gallery British  

noun

1. a collection of photographs of known criminals kept by the police for identification purposes

2. a group of undesirable people

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rogues' gallery Idioms  

1. A police collection of pictures of criminals and suspects kept for identification purposes. For example, The detective went through the entire rogues' gallery but couldn't find a match with the suspect. [Mid-1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of rogues' gallery

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rogues' gallery

Mr. Lee describes the fast fellowship formed among the rogues’ gallery of campers—the athletes, the jokers, the mischief-makers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

With Richard Beckinsale as his impressionable cellmate Lennie Godber, the series has a colourful rogues’ gallery of prisoners played by a cast including Brian Glover, Tony Osoba, Christopher Biggins, David Jason and Peter Vaughan.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2024

“It’s a rogues’ gallery on that through one provider,” said Halcyon executive Ryan Golden ahead of the report’s publication.

From Reuters ● Aug. 1, 2023

Rosenblum snaps back to the beginning of the summer, where she lays out her rogues’ gallery of gossips, hypocrites, cheaters.

From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023

But within this Hamiltonian rogues’ gallery, Burr was always the chief rogue, and what Hamilton said about him was truly distinctive.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis