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Breaking Down Ragtag
Tag and rag was a relatively common expression in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it was often used pejoratively to refer to members of the lower classes of society. By the 18th century, the phrase had been expanded to ragtag and bobtail. That expression could mean either "the lower classes" or "the entire lot of something" (as opposed to just the more desirable parts—the entire unit of an army, for example, not just its more capable soldiers). Something described as ragtag and bobtail, then, was usually common and unspectacular. Ragtag and bobtail was eventually shortened to ragtag, the adjective we know today, which can describe an odd mixture that is often hastily assembled or second-rate.
Examples of ragtag in a Sentence
Oliver Gettell, EW.com, 22 May 2025
Just put together a ragtag bunch of antiheroes culled from past franchise entries and turn them into a not-ready-for-primetime fighting team forced to save America and — presto!
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 29 Apr. 2025
Instead, their fates depend on a ragtag army of activists, relatives and armchair detectives.
—Eve Sampson, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Von Steuben’s efforts are credited with turning a ragtag Continental Army into a professional military by curtailing the prevalent graft and waste undermining the war effort.
—Lucy Lang, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ragtag
Cite this Entry
“Ragtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtag. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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ragtag
adjective
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