riffraff

American  

[rif-raf] / ˈrɪfˌræf /

noun

1. people, or a group of people, regarded as disreputable or worthless.

   a pack of riffraff.

2. the lowest classes; rabble.

   the riffraff of the city.

3. trash; rubbish.

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adjective

1. worthless, disreputable, or trashy.

riffraff British  

/ ˈrɪfˌræf /

noun

1. worthless people, esp collectively; rabble

2. dialect worthless rubbish

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Etymology

Origin of riffraff

1425–75; late Middle English rif and raf every particle, things of small value < Old French rif et raf, formed on rifler to spoil ( see rifle ²), raffler to ravage, snatch away

Explanation

Use the word riffraff when you refer in a snide way to common or lower-class people as a group. A snob might refuse to stay at a party if he thinks it's full of riffraff. You're only going to use riffraff in a joking way, unless you truly consider yourself part of a small, elite, superior segment of humanity. An obnoxious, arrogant character in a movie might tell her chauffeur, "Jeeves, pull around the corner. I don't want to walk through that crowd of riffraff." Before the fifteenth century, the term was rif and raf, which meant both "everybody," and "sweepings."

Example Sentences

He has some friends — acquaintances, really — whom he hates, mentally labeling them “the riffraff, the vulgarians, the slobs.”

From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2024

Just before the riots he had also responded to a rowdy reception committee in one banlieue by calling them racaille - riffraff.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2023

“I’ve dealt with the riffraff on the street for 14 years so I know how to play that,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2023

After all, someone’s gotta clear out the riffraff and the scammers, right?

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2023

“Inspection, right. Very careful we must be. Can’t allow any riffraff or deserters,” I said.

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys