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

rag

4 8.0

A lively piano piece in the ragtime style

noun
/ræɡ/

Archaic

: pieza de ragtime

Scott Joplin played Maple Leaf Rag at the turn of the century.
rag music
playing rags
Joplin rags

Examples

Won't you play me some rag?

There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
Well-known favorites such as Pennsylvania 6-5000, 12th Street Rag, Route 66, 920 Special, and Cocktails for Two are among the musical selections.

Blog text (10)
Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag.

Around the Fire (1998)
He wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag," when he was fourteen.

Academic text (1999)
♪ ♪ Stomp romp pomp the Michigan ♪ ♪ Jump clump pump the Michigan Rag ♪ ♪ That lovin' rag ♪♪

Son of the Mask (2005)
Whether a symphonic movement, an operatic aria, a piano quintet, a jazz combo, a Venezuelan gaita, or a North Indian rag, music is loaded with points of interest.

Academic text (2005)
Scott Joplin's famous piece, Maple Leaf Rag, is a classic example of ragtime music.
The lively syncopation of rag music makes it perfect for a fun dance party.
During the performance, the pianist captivated the audience with a joyful rag that echoed the spirit of the era.

Antonyms

serious music

1 6.5

Music that people listen to carefully, like symphonies and operas

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

Surface Forms

rag singular

rags plural

Etymology

Rag is short for ragtime, which meant 'ragged time' or an uneven, syncopated beat, so a rag is a lively piano piece with that 'ragged' rhythm.