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rah
[ rah ]
interjection
- (used as an exclamation of encouragement to a player or team.)
rah
/ rɑː /
interjection
- informal.short for hurrah
Example Sentences
“I think President Biden actually has a totally amazing record, but saying ‘rah rah’ for the guys who are already in charge is not necessarily the coolest message for a group of 19-year-olds.”
“He knew what he was doing. He got it right. He was very meticulous. He was excellent, but he wasn’t a rah, rah-type person. He wasn’t somebody who promoted himself.”
“You know those guys, they’re rah, rah, for real,” said fourth-year linebacker Jaylan Ford.
But that was some of what I was trying to do with this book — it’s called “Art Monsters,” by the way, not “rah rah, amazing art heroines!”
“I think they’re both going back to their happy places, which is a rah rah Republican Party kind of mindset. You know, I don’t think that that’s the right solution,” he told reporters afterwards.
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More About Rah
What does rah mean?
Rah is a word that’s shouted as a cheer, typically by cheerleaders or fans at sporting events.
It’s associated with traditional cheers that are used to cheer on a team or player—like the classic rah, rah, sis boom bah.
Due to its use as a cheer, rah is almost always spoken (shouted, actually) and is rarely written, except perhaps in descriptions of cheers.
Example: Led by the cheerleaders, the crowd cheered “rah, rah!” as the team ran onto the field.
Where does rah come from?
The first records of the word rah come from around 1870. It is a shortening of hurrah, which comes from the similar German term hurra. Hurrah may have been based on or influenced by the earlier and very similar huzzah. Huzzah is thought to come from a word that sailors used to shout in celebration. It may derive from the word hoise, meaning “to hoist”—which they’d shout when hoisting (raising) something, like the sails of the ship.
Repetition of the word rah can be heard in many traditional cheers. Use of the term in this way led to the term rah-rah, which is an adjective used to describe an enthusiastic attitude or spirit or actions motivated by such spirit. It often implies that someone is cheering on something in an uncritical or overly enthusiastic way, as in His rah-rah attitude about the company has prevented him from seeing its flaws.
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How is rah used in real life?
Rah is almost exclusively used as a cheer at sporting events. Occasionally, it appears in parts of songs modeled after such cheers.
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! T-A-M-C! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! T-A-M-C! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! T-A-M-C! Aaaa! Rah! Rah! Rah! Team! #MidnightYell #BTHOolemiss
— Texas A&M University (@TAMU) October 24, 2015
MO FARAH, MO FARAH, RUNNING DOWN THE WING, FARAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH, THE QUORN EATING KING #SoccerAid
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) June 10, 2018
Rah rah ah-ah-ah!
Ro mah ro-mah-mah
Gaga oh-la-la!
Want your bad romance— The Real Fat Nick (@_FatNick) February 6, 2018
Try using rah!
Which of the following people are LEAST likely to chant the word rah at a sporting event to encourage the home team?
A. the home team’s fans
B. the home team’s cheerleaders
C. the home team’s mascot
D. the opposing team’s fans
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