rabble
1 Americannoun
-
a disorderly crowd; mob.
-
the rabble, the lower classes; the common people.
The nobility held the rabble in complete contempt.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a disorderly crowd; mob
-
derogatory the common people
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- rabbler noun
Etymology
Origin of rabble1
1350–1400; Middle English rabel (noun), of uncertain origin
Origin of rabble2
1655–65; < French râble fire-shovel, tool, Middle French raable < Latin rutābulum implement for shifting hot coals, equivalent to *rutā ( re ) presumed frequentative of ruere to churn up, disturb + -bulum suffix of instrument
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That rabble was earning the family an immense amount of money.
From Literature
“They really sound like this out-of-tune rabble, and you hear what maybe other people might have heard,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times
That must be a factor in their inconsistency, but I don't think it will matter here because Wolves have been such a rabble recently.
From BBC
Mr Holt said Mr Jones was "rabble rousing" a crowd which has been described as "tens of thousands" in size.
From BBC
The rest of the set balanced her competing impulses: rock chick, singer-songwriter, rabble rouser, strident feminist, heartfelt balladeer.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
