🧽 A cleaning cloth 📰 A cheap newspaper 🎉 A charity event 🎹 A ragtime song 🎹 To play ragtime 😜 A practical joke 😏 To tease

rag

97 1.0

A small piece of old cloth used for cleaning

noun
/ræɡ/

: trapo

Leah cleared the dishes while Ellie got a damp rag and wiped the table clean.
filthy rag
scraps and rags
cloth into rags

Whether I'm cooking or working in the shop, I like AI like a rag on my shoulder, Right.

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Examples

Go grab a rag and talk to Alfonso.

Control (2004)
Use a clean rag to wipe the spilled juice off the table.
We'll just take a standard rag and work it in nice and good.
Take a dry rag or towel or whatever you have on hand.
Make sure you put the rags in the washing machine.

Whispers in the Dark (1992)
Lando wiped his hands on an oily rag as he walked over to greet her.

Fiction book (1991)
We would mop the bare pine floors, run dust rags over the benches, and wash the windows.

Academic text (1997)
She transformed her old shirt into a rag for cleaning the windows.
Before you start painting, make sure to have a rag handy to clean your brushes.

Synonyms

towel

vsrag

565 1.0

A piece of cloth or paper used to dry people and objects

is usually a small old cloth for cleaning rather than a larger drying item

handkerchief

vsrag

90 2.2

A small square cloth for wiping your nose or face and for decoration

is typically an old torn cloth for cleaning rather than a kept personal cloth

paper towel

vsrag

66 1.0

A disposable paper sheet that soaks up water to dry hands or clean spills

is an older cloth used again for cleaning not a disposable paper product

wipe

vsrag

35 1.0

A small piece of soft material used for cleaning skin or surfaces

is a reusable old cloth used repeatedly for wiping rather than disposable

washcloth

vsrag

22 1.0

A small square cloth to wash your face and body

is often a rough old cloth for wiping surfaces rather than bathing use

tatter

vsrag

Archaic

14 5.6

A small torn piece of cloth or paper

is used specifically for cleaning or wiping rather than only a fragment

dishrag

vsrag

3 1.1

A small cloth for washing plates and pans

is an old torn cloth used for many cleaning tasks beyond dishes

cleaning cloth

vsrag

1 1.0

A small piece of soft material used to wipe surfaces and remove dirt or oil

is an older often torn cloth used casually for general cleaning

oily rag

vsrag

1 3.4

A piece of cloth soaked in oil used to clean or shine things

is a simple old cloth used for general wiping rather than oil soaked use

snot rag

vsrag

Offensive

1 9.9

A rude word for a piece of cloth or paper used to wipe your nose

is a basic old cloth for general cleaning not a crude nasal term

washrag

vsrag

1 2.7

A small cloth used to wash the face or body

is usually an old torn cloth for cleaning surfaces rather than bathing use

face cloth

vsrag

1 1.0

A small soft towel you use to wash your face or body

is meant for gentle skin washing not for rough household cleaning

raggie

vsrag

9.6

A small piece of cloth used for cleaning

is the common standard word for the same small old cleaning cloth

wiping cloth

vsrag

2.1

A piece of cloth for cleaning grease, oil, or dirt in workshops

is a small old cloth used for general household cleaning instead

sponge cloth

vsrag

3.2

A soft cloth that soaks up water for cleaning and drying surfaces

is a plain older torn cloth rather than a specialized absorbent fabric

Idioms

on the rag

Slur

5 9.9

A woman who is having her period, said in a rude way

to feel like a wet rag

8.6

To be very tired and weak after hard effort

Compounds

rag doll

4 2.0

A cloth doll filled with stuffing and with a painted or stitched face

rag doll

Specialized

2 5.8

In video games, a character that falls limp and moves like a cloth doll

oily rag

1 3.4

A piece of cloth soaked in oil used to clean or shine things

toe rag

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who is very unpleasant and treats others badly

snot rag

Offensive

1 9.9

A rude word for a piece of cloth or paper used to wipe your nose

rag bag

1 7.1

A messy mix of things that do not belong together

rag paper

Specialized

1 7.5

A sheet people make from old cloth that lasts a long time

rag trade

1 4.9

A business that makes and sells fashionable clothes

fag rag

Slur

9.9

An insulting name for a magazine about gay or lesbian culture

rag day

6.7

A day often at a university when students hold fun events to raise money for charity

rag gourd

Indian

9.3

A tropical climbing plant with big yellow flowers, edible young fruits, and a dry inside used as a sponge

rag week

9.1

A week when students hold events to raise money for charity

red rag

8.3

A comment or act that makes someone very angry, especially if they are already upset

pine-tar rag

Jargon

8.7

A cloth soaked in pine tar that batters rub on a bat handle to help them hold it better

tag and rag

Jargon

9.8

A method of marking people and keeping records to check safety and how well work is done

wet rag

Offensive

8.5

A person who is dull and has little energy or interest

How Big

cloth

215 1.0

sheet

272 1.0

towel

565 1.0

rag

97 1.0

shred

49 2.2

Surface Forms

rag singular

rags plural

Etymology

Rag goes back to old English and related German words that meant 'a torn piece of cloth', so a rag still means a small, often old or torn cloth used for cleaning.