riffraff
/ˈɹɪfɹæf/
"riffraff" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“riffraff” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The rabble; crowds; people of a low, disreputable or undesirable class or position.
Corpus desk
Index EN-riffraff · riffraff · English
riffraff · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | riffraff |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹɪfɹæf/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “riffraff” in English
Rare enough to double-check
riffraff is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹɪfɹæf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
riffraff doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French rif et raf (“one and all”), of Germanic origin. The first word is from rifler (“to scrape off”) and the last is from raffler, related to rafler (“to plunder”). The correct English form is riffraff, spelled R-I-F-F-R-A-F-F.
Definition
- 1The rabble; crowds; people of a low, disreputable or undesirable class or position.
- 2Sweepings; refuse.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how riffraff appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
They started charging a modest fee in an effort to keep the riffraff out.
Agent Beeman (Noah Emmerich): I think we got him. / Special Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas): Who? / Agent Beeman: I-I-I don't know. The guy who killed Chris, the--the Russians, the whole damn thing maybe. / Special Agent Gaad: You want to sit down? / Agent Beeman: The guy from the salvage yard who hocked the ring, and he does business with some riffraff from…
Etymology
From Old French rif et raf (“one and all”), of Germanic origin. The first word is from rifler (“to scrape off”) and the last is from raffler, related to rafler (“to plunder”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.