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Glite Dictionary
rag day

rag day

6.7
A day often at a university when students hold fun events to raise money for charity
  • noun
  • /ræɡ deɪ/
  • UK
translation icon : día de recaudación
  • The university organizes a rag day every spring to collect donations for local charities.

Examples

  • Our university's rag day raised over a thousand dollars for charity.

  • Students wore fancy dress costumes throughout rag day to entertain the town.

  • During rag day, the campus was filled with music and lively activities.

  • Students celebrated rag day with various fun activities.

  • Every year, the students plan exciting events for rag day to support local charities.

  • On rag day, the university hosts games and performances to raise money for important causes.

  • The highlight of rag day is the charity parade that showcases student creativity and community spirit.

Synonyms

benefit
vsrag day
238 3.9

An event held to raise money for a charity, often a performance

is a student-organized campus day with varied events to raise money
fundraiser
vsrag day
96 2.7

An event to raise money for a group or cause

is a wider campus celebration involving many student-run events to gather money
charity event
vsrag day
25 2.1

An organized event, like a concert, to raise money or attention for people in need

is specifically a university day with student activities to collect funds
rag
vsrag day
  • Jargon
5 9.1

A time at university when students dress up and parade to raise money

is a single-day occasion for similar student fundraising activities
fund-raising drive
vsrag day
1 3.3

A planned event to collect money for a cause

is a one-day student celebration rather than a longer, sustained campaign
fund-raising effort
vsrag day
3.2

An organized activity to collect money for a charity or cause

is a festive student-run day rather than a general fundraising campaign

Surface Forms

rag day singular
rag days plural

Morphology

rag + day

Given the provided meaning of 'rag' as a student-organized charity event and 'day' as a calendar day, a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer that 'rag day' is a day of student charity events. This is a straightforward noun–noun composition following normal English compounding, so the meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Rag day may come from an old student tradition: one popular story says students dressed in torn rags, put on silly shows in the streets and asked people for money. Because they wore rags and collected money, the phrase came to mean a student day 'to raise money' for charity.