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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
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 May 2026
Backhaus, as environment minister, eventually allowed the ragtag crew to proceed.
—Jessica Camille Aguirre, New Yorker, 2 May 2026
Dustin even re-christens the group the Hawkins Investigators Club, a particularly groanworthy development since there’s already a fictional member’s group that unites the ragtag gang.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026
These ragtag misfits, who are all incredibly talented and who are in desperate need of each other, and the glue that binds them together is the music and the city.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ragtag
Cite this Entry
“Ragtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtag. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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ragtag
adjective
