Definitions for: Rag


[n] (British) a boisterous practical joke (especially by college students)
[n] a small piece of cloth
[n] newspaper with half-size pages
[n] music with a syncopated melody (usually for the piano)
[n] (British) a week at British universities during which side-shows and processions of floats are organized to raise money for charities
[v] break into lumps before sorting, as of ore
[v] censure severely or angrily; "The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car"; "The deputy ragged the Prime Minister"; "The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup"; "check" is archaic
[v] harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children teased the new teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my failure"; "His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a jacket and tie"
[v] play in ragtime, as of a musical piece
[v] cause annoyance in; disturb, esp. by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"
[v] treat cruelly; "The children tormented the stuttering teacher"



Webster (1913) Definition: Rag, v. t.
1. (Music) To play or compose (a piece, melody, etc.) in
syncopated time. [Colloq.]

2. To dance to ragtime music, esp. in some manner considered
indecorous. [Colloq. or Slang]


Rag, v. t. [Cf. Icel. r[ae]gja to calumniate, OHG, ruogen
to accuse, G. r["u]gen to censure, AS. wr[=e]gan, Goth.
wr[=o]hjan to accuse.]
To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to torment; to
banter. [Prov. Eng.] --Pegge.


Rag, n. [OE. ragge, probably of Scand, origin; cf. Icel.
r["o]gg rough hair. Cf. Rug, n.]
1. A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered piece of cloth; a
shred; a tatter; a fragment.

Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers,
tossed, And fluttered into rags. --Milton.

Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover
the shame of their cruelty. --Fuller.

2. pl. Hence, mean or tattered attire; worn-out dress.

And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.
--Dryden.

3. A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.

The other zealous rag is the compositor. --B.
Jonson.

Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag
and rag. --Spenser.

4. (Geol.) A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in
texture.

5. (Metal Working) A ragged edge.

6. A sail, or any piece of canvas. [Nautical Slang]

Our ship was a clipper with every rag set. --Lowell.

Rag bolt, an iron pin with barbs on its shank to retain it
in place.

Rag carpet, a carpet of which the weft consists of narrow
of cloth sewed together, end to end.

Rag dust, fine particles of ground-up rags, used in making
papier-mach['e] and wall papers.

Rag wheel.
(a) A chain wheel; a sprocket wheel.
(b) A polishing wheel made of disks of cloth clamped
together on a mandrel.

Rag wool, wool obtained by tearing woolen rags into fine
bits, shoddy.


Rag, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ragged; p. pr. & vb. n.
Ragging.]
To become tattered. [Obs.]


Rag, v. t.
1. To break (ore) into lumps for sorting.

2. To cut or dress roughly, as a grindstone.

Synonyms: annoy, bait, bawl out, bedevil, berate, bother, chafe, chew out, chew up, chide, cod, crucify, devil, dress down, dun, frustrate, get at, get to, gravel, have words, irritate, jaw, lambast, lambaste, lecture, nark, nettle, rag week, ragtime, rally, razz, rebuke, remonstrate, reprimand, reproof, ride, rile, scold, sheet, shred, tabloid, tag, tag end, tantalise, tantalize, tatter, taunt, tease, torment, trounce, twit, vex

See Also: antagonise, antagonize, badger, ballroom music, banter, barrack, beleaguer, bemock, beset, break up, brush down, bug, castigate, chaff, chasten, chastise, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, correct, criticise, criticize, dance music, danceroom music, displease, eat into, flout, fragment, fragmentise, fragmentize, fret, get, gibe, grate, hamstring, harass, harry, hassle, hebdomad, jeer, jolly, josh, kid, madden, mock, molest, newspaper, objurgate, oppress, paper, peeve, persecute, pester, pick apart, piece of cloth, piece of material, pine-tar rag, plague, play, practical joke, provoke, rag day, rankle, ruffle, scoff, spiel, tease, tell off, week

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