Meaning

17 senses
  1. (especially, in the plural)Tattered clothes (clothing).

    —What a pretty dress! —What, this old rag?

    It's semiformal. I can't show up dressed in rags!

    Lumpen, Fetzen

    лохмо́тьяloxmótʹja, тряпьёtrjapʹjó, ве́тошьvétošʹ

  2. A piece of old cloth, especially one used for cleaning, patching, etc.; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred or tatter.

    Lappen

    тря́пкаtrjápka, лоску́тloskút, ве́тошьvétošʹ

    ганчі́ркаhančírka

    a small piece of cloth

  3. (derogatory)A shabby, beggarly person; synonym of ragamuffin.

    оборва́нецoborvánec, оборва́нкаoborvánka

  4. A ragged edge in metalworking.

  5. (slang)A sail, or any piece of canvas.

    полотно́polotnó

  6. (plural, singular, slang)Sanitary napkins, pads, or other materials used to absorb menstrual discharge.

  7. (derogatory, slang)A newspaper or magazine, especially one whose journalism is considered to be of poor quality.

    Käseblatt

    газетёнкаgazetjónka

  8. A poor, low-ranking kicker.

    I have ace-four on my hand. In other words, I have ace-rag.

  9. (slang)A curtain of various kinds.

  10. (dated)A person suffering from exhaustion or lack of energy.

  11. An uneven vertical margin (of a block of type).

    We always leave rag on article typeset for the web.

  12. (countable, uncountable)A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture; ragstone.

Examples

78 sentences
  1. The old man was dressed in rags.

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  2. You shouldn't keep towels and cleaning rags together.

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  3. Truth has a good face, but ragged clothes.

    ruУ правды красивое лицо, но рваная одежда.

    deDie Wahrheit hat ein schönes Angesicht, aber zerrissene Kleider.

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  4. Tom wiped the table off with a damp rag.

    deTom wischte den Tisch mit einem feuchten Lappen ab.

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  5. She used a damp rag to wipe off the dust.

    ruОна воспользовалась влажной тряпкой, чтобы вытереть пыль.

    deSie benutzte einen feuchten Lappen, um den Staub abzuwischen.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
piece of cloth:
Русский
By meaning 5
mean or tattered attire:
piece of cloth:
shabby, beggarly fellow:
sail, or any piece of canvas:
(slang, pejorative) a newspaper:
Deutsch
By meaning 3
mean or tattered attire:
piece of cloth:
(slang, pejorative) a newspaper:

Origin

From Middle English ragge, from Old English ragg (suggested by derivative raggiġ (“shaggy;

From Middle English ragge, from Old English ragg (suggested by derivative raggiġ (“shaggy; bristly; ragged”)), from Old Norse rǫgg (“tuft; shagginess”), from Proto-Germanic *rawwa-, probably related to *rūhaz. Cognate with Swedish ragg. Related to rug.

Unknown origin; perhaps the same word as Etymology 1, above.

Uncertain. Ideas about the scolding and tormenting senses being related to on the rag are only speculative.

Perhaps from ragged. Compare later ragtime.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: rags
Singularrag
Pluralrags

regular

Synonyms

9 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • a small piece of cloth:shredtagtag endtatter
  • a week at British universities during which side-shows and processions of floats are organized to raise money for charities:rag week
  • newspaper with half-size pages:tabloidsheet
  • music with a syncopated melody (usually for the piano):ragtime

Word family

76 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
rag — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto