rabble

play

noun rab·ble \ˈra-bəl\

Definition of rabble

1 : a disorganized or confused collection of things
2a : a disorganized or disorderly crowd of people : mobb : the lowest class of people

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Examples of rabble in a Sentence

the crown prince was reminded that even the rabble of the realm deserved his attention and compassion

Recent Examples of rabble from the Web

Sherven, 49, doesn't come across as a rabble-rouser.

— rick romell, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "With deer hunting woven into our cultural and economic fabric, a threat to the herd could turn catastrophic", 6 July 2017
When the rabble show up with pitchforks and torches, the queen comes to the balcony and quiets them.

— christian lorentzen, New Republic, "The Beguiled: Not Shy About Violence", 23 June 2017
CMO Today’s Suzanne Vranica reports that J.P. Morgan is suspending advertising on NBC news programming until after the network airs anchor Megyn Kelly’s interview with right-wing rabble-rouser Alex Jones on Sunday.

— lara o’reilly, WSJ, "CMO Today: Snap Launches More Ad Tools; J.P. Morgan Pulls Ads from NBC Over Megyn Kelly Interview", 13 June 2017
Ortega, a freshman studying social work, did not expect to become an anti-government rabble-rouser.

— joshua partlow, Washington Post, "How a new kind of protest movement has risen in Venezuela", 3 June 2017
A RABBLE OF DEAD MONEY: The Great Crash and the Global Depression, 1929-1939, by Charles R. Morris.

— New York Times, "10 New Books We Recommend This Week", 27 Apr. 2017
The question has always been, Which Trump will win out: the nationalist rabble-rouser or the avatar of global capitalism?

— john cassidy, The New Yorker, "Steve Bannon Is Losing to the Globalists", 6 Apr. 2017
There wasn’t just the rise of Newt Gingrich, his congressional rabble-rousers and freelance partisanship.

— The Hive, "As Trump Takes Office, Nate Silver Twists the Knife", 20 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rabble'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Rabble has been with the English language since its appearance in Middle English (as "rabel") in the late 1300s. It may have come from the Middle English verb "rabel" which meant "to babble." (Despite the similarity in sound and meaning, however, "babble" and "rabble" are unrelated.) The verb "rabel" is related to Middle Dutch "rabbelen" and Low German rabbeln, meaning "to chatter." So how do we get from babbling to crowds of people? The connection may be the idea of confusion. "Rabble," in its earliest uses could not only indicate a pack of animals, swarm of insects, or a confused collection of things, but could also indicate a confused or meaningless string of words.

Origin and Etymology of rabble

Middle English rabel pack of animals

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

rabble

verb rab·ble

Definition of rabble

rabbled

;

rabbling

play \-b(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb
: to insult or assault by or as a mob

First Known Use of rabble

1644

RABBLE Defined for English Language Learners

rabble

play

noun

Definition of rabble for English Language Learners

: a large group of loud people who could become violent
the rabble : ordinary or common people who do not have a lot of money, power, or social status