rag|ged /ræ g I d/
1 ADJ Someone who is ragged looks untidy and is wearing clothes that are old and torn. □ The five survivors eventually reached safety, ragged, half-starved and exhausted. ● rag|ged|ly ADV [ADV -ed] □ …raggedly dressed children.
2 ADJ Ragged clothes are old and torn.
3 ADJ You can say that something is ragged when it is untidy or uneven. □ O'Brien formed the men into a ragged line. ● rag|ged|ly ADV [ADV after v, ADV -ed] □ Some people tried to sing, but their voices soon died raggedly away.
rag|gedy /ræ g I di/ ADJ People and things that are raggedy are dirty and untidy. Raggedy clothes are old and torn. [INFORMAL ] □ …an old man in a raggedy topcoat.
rag|ing /re I dʒ I ŋ/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Raging water moves very forcefully and violently. □ The field trip involved crossing a raging torrent.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Raging fire is very hot and fierce. □ As he came closer he saw a gigantic wall of raging flame before him.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] Raging is used to describe things, especially bad things, that are very intense. □ If raging inflation returns, then interest rates will shoot up. □ He felt a raging thirst.
4 → see also rage
ra|gout /ræguː / (ragouts ) N‑VAR A ragout is a strongly flavoured stew of meat or vegetables or both.
ra g rug (rag rugs ) N‑COUNT A rag rug is a small carpet made of old pieces of cloth stitched or woven together.
rag|tag /ræ gtæg/ also rag-tag ADJ [ADJ n] If you want to say that a group of people or an organization is badly organized and not very respectable, you can describe it as a ragtag group or organization. [INFORMAL ] □ We started out with a little rag-tag team of 30 people.
rag|time /ræ gta I m/ N‑UNCOUNT Ragtime is a kind of jazz piano music that was invented in America in the early 1900s.
ra g trade N‑SING The rag trade is the business and industry of making and selling clothes, especially women's clothes. □ The rag trade is extremely competitive, and one needs plenty of contacts in order to survive.
raid ◆◇◇ /re I d/ (raids , raiding , raided )
1 VERB When soldiers raid a place, they make a sudden armed attack against it, with the aim of causing damage rather than occupying any of the enemy's land. □ [V n] The guerrillas raided banks and destroyed a police barracks and an electricity substation. ● N‑COUNT Raid is also a noun. □ [+ on/against ] The rebels attempted a surprise raid on a military camp.
2 → see also air raid
3 VERB If the police raid a building, they enter it suddenly and by force in order to look for dangerous criminals or for evidence of something illegal, such as drugs or weapons. □ [V n] Fraud squad officers raided the firm's offices. ● N‑COUNT Raid is also a noun. □ [+ on ] They were arrested early this morning after a raid on a house by thirty armed police.
4 VERB If someone raids a building or place, they enter it by force in order to steal something. [BRIT ] □ [V n] A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of raiding a bank. ● N‑COUNT Raid is also a noun. □ [+ on ] …an armed raid on a small Post Office.
5 VERB If you raid the fridge or the larder, you take food from it to eat instead of a meal or in between meals. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] She made her way to the kitchen to raid the fridge.
raid|er /re I də r / (raiders )
1 N‑COUNT Raiders are people who enter a building or place by force in order to steal something. [BRIT ] □ The raiders escaped with cash and jewellery.
2 → see also corporate raider
rail ◆◇◇ /re I l/ (rails , railing , railed )
1 N‑COUNT A rail is a horizontal bar attached to posts or fixed round the edge of something as a fence or support. □ She gripped the thin rail in the lift.
2 N‑COUNT A rail is a horizontal bar that you hang things on. □ This pair of curtains will fit a rail up to 7ft 6in wide.
3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Rails are the steel bars which trains run on. □ The train left the rails but somehow forced its way back onto the line.
4 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] If you travel or send something by rail , you travel or send it on a train. □ The president traveled by rail to his home town.
5 VERB If you rail against something, you criticize it loudly and angrily. [WRITTEN ] □ [V + against/at ] He railed against hypocrisy and greed.
6 → see also railing
7 PHRASE If something is back on the rails , it is beginning to be successful again after a period when it almost failed. [JOURNALISM ] □ They are keen to get the negotiating process back on the rails.
8 PHRASE If someone goes off the rails , they start to behave in a way that other people think is unacceptable or very strange, for example they start taking drugs or breaking the law. □ They've got to do something about these children because clearly they've gone off the rails.
rail|card /re I lkɑː r d/ (railcards ) N‑COUNT A railcard is an identity card that allows people to buy train tickets cheaply. [BRIT ]
rail|ing /re I l I ŋ/ (railings )
1 N‑COUNT A fence made from metal bars is called a railing or railings . □ He walked out on to the balcony where he rested his arms on the railing.
2 → see also rail