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PlainSpell

rag

UK /ɹæɡ/noun, verb

rag is spelled R-A-G: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rag means “Tattered clothes (clothing)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rag is rags.

How many letters and syllables are in rag?

Letters3: R-A-G
Syllables1
In writing3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is rag?

Rag appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce rag?

  • UK /ɹæɡ/
  • British /ɹaɡ/
  • /ɾaɡ/

Rag has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rag.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with rag?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rag from its last stressed vowel (/æɡ/, British pronunciation):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: gar, arg.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of rag

  • rags plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • ragging participle, present
  • ragged participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does rag mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Tattered clothes (clothing).

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

  2. 2

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

  3. 3

    derogatoryA shabby, beggarly person; synonym of ragamuffin.

  4. 4

    A ragged edge in metalworking.

  5. 5

    slangA sail, or any piece of canvas.

  6. 6

    slangSanitary napkins, pads, or other materials used to absorb menstrual discharge.

  7. 7

    derogatoryslangA newspaper or magazine, especially one whose journalism is considered to be of poor quality.

  8. 8

    A poor, low-ranking kicker.

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

  9. 9

    A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture; ragstone.

  10. 10

    datedA prank or practical joke.

  11. 11

    IrelandUKA society run by university students for the purpose of charitable fundraising.

  12. 12

    USobsoleteAn informal dance party featuring music played by African-American string bands.

  13. 13

    A ragtime song, dance or piece of music.

verb

  1. 1

    To decorate (a wall, etc.) by applying paint with a rag.

  2. 2

    To become tattered.

  3. 3

    slangvulgarTo menstruate.

  4. 4

    To break (ore) into lumps for sorting.

  5. 5

    To cut or dress roughly, as a grindstone.

    Near-synonym: rough

  6. 6

    To scold or tell off; to torment; to banter.

  7. 7

    UKslangTo drive a car or another vehicle in a hard, fast, or unsympathetic manner.

  8. 8

    To tease or torment, especially at a university; to bully, to haze.

  9. 9

    Of dogs, to bite an object, often a toy or leash, and vigorously shake their head.

  10. 10

    informalTo play or compose (a piece, melody, etc.) in syncopated time.

  11. 11

    informalTo dance to ragtime music.

  12. 12

    obsoleteTo add syncopation (to a tune) and thereby make it appropriate for a ragtime song.

noun

as RAG
  1. 1

    Initialism of retrieval-augmented generation: a method of augmenting performance of LLMs (large language models) by serving them a curated selection of data input, via a combination of relevant data libraries and on-the-fly but relevant search results.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Rag in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchchiffon, fripe (piece of cloth), guenille, haillon, loque, oripeau (mean or tattered attire)
GermanLappen (piece of cloth), Lumpen, Fetzen (mean or tattered attire), Käseblatt ((slang, pejorative) a newspaper), Unfug treiben (To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to…)
Portuguesefarrapo, trapo (piece of cloth), pasquim ((slang, pejorative) a newspaper)
Spanishjirón, trapo, bayeta, gamuza, harapo, andrajo (piece of cloth)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does rag come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after rag