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ragged

 - 11 dictionary results

rag⋅ged

  [rag-id]
Use ragged in a Sentence
–adjective
1. clothed in tattered garments: a ragged old man.
2. torn or worn to rags; tattered: ragged clothing.
3. shaggy, as an animal, its coat, etc.
4. having loose or hanging shreds or fragmentary bits: a ragged wound.
5. full of rough or sharp projections; jagged: ragged stones.
6. in a wild or neglected state: a ragged garden.
7. rough, imperfect, or faulty: a ragged piece of work.
8. harsh, as sound, the voice, etc.
9. (of a column of type) set or printed with one side unjustified; either flush left with the right side unjustified (ragged right) or flush right with the left side unjustified (ragged left).
Origin:
1250–1300; ME ragget. See rag 1 , -ed 3

Related forms:
rag⋅ged⋅ly, adverb
rag⋅ged⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. shabby, poor. 2. shredded, rent.

Antonyms:
1. neat.

rag

2  [rag] verb, ragged, rag⋅ging, noun Informal.
–verb (used with object)
1. to scold.
2. to subject to a teasing, esp. in an intense or prolonged way (often fol. by on): Some of the boys were ragging on him about his haircut.
3. British. to torment with jokes; play crude practical jokes on.
–noun
4. British. an act of ragging.
Origin:
1790–1800; orig. uncert.

rag

3  [rag]
–verb (used with object), ragged, rag⋅ging.
to break up (lumps of ore) for sorting.
Origin:
1870–75; orig. uncert.

rag

4  [rag] noun, verb, ragged, rag⋅ging.
–noun
1. a musical composition in ragtime: a piano rag.
–verb (used with object)
2. to play (music) in ragtime.
Origin:
1895–1900; shortened form of ragtime
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ragged
rag 2   (rāg)   
tr.v.   ragged, rag·ging, rags

  1. Slang To tease or taunt. See Synonyms at banter.

  2. Slang To berate; scold.

  3. Chiefly British To play a joke on.

  4. Sports In ice hockey, to maintain possession of (the puck) by outmaneuvering opposing players, especially so as to kill a penalty.

n.   Chiefly British
A practical joke; a prank.

[Origin unknown.]
rag 4   (rāg)   
tr.v.   ragged, rag·ging, rags
To compose or play (a piece) in ragtime.
n.  A piece written in ragtime.

[Perhaps from ragged.]
rag·ged   (rāg'ĭd)   
adj.  

  1. Tattered, frayed, or torn: ragged clothes.

  2. Dressed in tattered or threadbare clothes: a ragged scarecrow.

  3. Unkempt or shaggy: ragged hair.

  4. Having an irregular surface or edge; uneven or jagged in outline: a column of text set with a ragged right margin.

  5. Imperfect; uneven: The actor gave a ragged performance.

  6. Harsh; rasping: a ragged cough.


[Middle English, from ragge, rag; see rag1.]
rag'ged·ly adv., rag'ged·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
rag

  1. n.
    a newspaper. : What a rag! It's only good for putting in the bottom of bird cages!
  2. n.
    ugly or badly styled clothing; an ugly garment. : I can't wear that rag!
  3. n.
    any clothing, even the best. (Always plural.) : Man, I got some new rags that will knock your eyes out!
  4. n.
    a sanitary napkin; a tampon. (For use in the menstrual cycle. Usually objectionable.) : God, I've got to change this rag!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

rag  (n.)
c.1310, probably from O.N. rogg "shaggy tuft," earlier raggw-, or possibly from O.Dan. rag (see rug), or a back-formation from ragged (c.1300), which is from O.N. raggaðr "shaggy," via O.E. raggig "rag-like." It also may represent an unrecorded O.E. cognate of O.N. rogg. As an insulting term for "newspaper, magazine" it dates from 1734; slang for "tampon, sanitary napkin" is attested from 1930s. Rags "personal clothing" is from 1855, Amer.Eng. Rags-to-riches "rise from poverty to wealth" is attested from 1947. Ragtop "convertible car" is from 1955. Raghead, insulting term for "South Asian or Middle Eastern person," first attested 1921.

ragged 
"rough, shaggy," c.1300, from rag (n.), but earliest use is not directly from the main sense of that word and may reflect a broader, older meaning. Of clothes, c.1325; of persons, c.1375. Raggedy Ann doll first attested 1918.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

ragged

see run one ragged.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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