Did you know?
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
Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 28 June 2025
Unfortunately, those lofty first-act ambitions give way to something much more formulaic, as Buzz joins forces with the usual ragtag bunch of misfits to battle the evil Emperor Zurg.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 20 June 2025
It’s got one of the most memorable endings in all of horror: Ben, the sole survivor of the zombie attack on a farmhouse, is absentmindedly shot by a member of the ragtag militia that has formed to deal with the undead.
—Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Campaign Three, which followed a ragtag bunch of heroes known as Bells Hells, concluded earlier this year.
—James Grebey, Rolling Stone, 13 June 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 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ragtag
adjective
Share