1137
railroad
some good public purpose, by selling numbered tickets, some of which win prizes: a raffle ticket | He won a car in the raffle. → compare DRAW, LOTTERY
raffle² v [T(OFF)] to offer as the prize in a raffle: They're raffling (off) a colour TV.
Raf-fles Ho-tel /ˌræfəlz həʊˈtel/ a famous old hotel in Singapore, in a beautiful 19th century building. It is a popular place for wealthy people to stay, and is named after Sir Stamford Raffles, who brought Singapore under British control in 1819.
Raf-san-ja-ni, Ho-ja-tol-es-lam Al-i Ak-bar Hash-e-mi /ˌræfsænˈdʒɔni, ˈhəʊdʒətɒlɪslɑːm ˈæli ˈækbɔː ˈhæʃemiːdʒɔːtiːl-/ (1934-) an Iranian religious teacher and politician who became state president after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 and ruled until 1997
raft¹ /rɑːft||ræft/ n 1 [C] a flat floating structure, usually made of wood, used as a boat or as a landing place for swimmers 2 [C] also life raft —a small flat rubber boat that can be filled with air, for the use of passengers on a sinking ship or crashed aircraft 3 [S+of] infml, especially AmE a large number or amount: A whole raft of people came for drinks.
raft² v [i;T] to travel or carry on a raft: They rafted (the stores) down the river.
raf-ter /ˈrɑːftə||ˈræf-/ n any of the large sloping especially wooden beams that hold up a roof
raft-ing /ˈrɑftɪŋ||ræf-/ n [U] AmE the sport of travelling down a fast-flowing river in a rubber RAFT
rag¹ /ræg/ n 1 [C,U] (a small piece of) old cloth: He cleaned the machine with an oily rag / a piece of oily rag. 1 (fig.) I feel like a wet rag. (=very tired) 2 [C usually pl.] an old worn-out garment: The beggar was dressed in rags. → see also GLAD RAGS 3 [C] infml, usually derog a newspaper, especially one of low quality: the local rag 4 from rags to riches from being very poor to being very rich: a brilliant young footballer whose talent took him from rags to riches 5 on the rag AmE slang having a PERIOD 6 lose your rag BrE to suddenly become very angry: It took me ages to get John's kids to go to bed. But I didn't lose my rag – luckily I was in the right mood to deal with all that. | The local MP is an obscure politician, best known for losing his rag with persistent journalists.
rag² n especially BrE 1 an amusing procession of college students through the streets on a special day (rag day) or during a special week (rag week) each year, collecting money for CHARITY 2 old-fash a rough but harmless trick: They pushed him into the river for/as a rag.
rag³ v -gg- [T] old-fash, especially BrE to play rough tricks on or make fun of: They ragged him about his big ears.
rag⁴ n a piece of music written in RAGTIME
ra-ga /ˈrɑːgə/ n 1 any of the many ancient patterns of notes in Indian music 2 a piece of music based on one of these patterns: an evening raga
rag-a-muf-fin /ˈrægəˌmʌfɪn/ n especially lit a dirty young child in torn clothes
rag-and-'bone man n BrE a man who goes round the streets with a LORRY or a horse and CART buying things such as old clothes that people do not want
rag-bag /ˈrægbæg/ n [(of)] often derog a confused mixture
rag doll
rag 'doll n a soft DOLL made out of cloth. Rag dolls are known for being FLOPPY and a very tired or hurt person is sometimes compared to one.
rage¹ /reɪdʒ/ n 1 [C,U] (a sudden feeling of) wild uncontrollable anger: His suggestions have been greeted with rage by his opponents. | He flies into a rage every time I mention money. 1 (fig.) the rage of the storm 2 [C] infml a very popular fashion: the latest rage | Dresses like this used to be all the rage. (=very fashionable)
rage² v [I] 1 [(about, against, at)] to be in a RAGE 2 to spread or continue with great force or violence: a raging storm | The disease raged through the city. | The argument over the new airport is still raging.
rag-ga /ˈrægə/ n [U] a form of popular dance music from the West Indies
rag-ged /ˈrægɪd/ adj 1 also rag-ged-y /ˈrægɪdi/ AmE — old and torn: a ragged shirt 2 dressed in old torn clothes: a ragged boy 3 (of work) seeming unfinished and imperfect: The musicians gave a ragged performance. 4 with uneven edges or surfaces: a ragged beard 5 ragged edge AmE a difficult or dangerous position: So many horrible things have happened to him recently that he feels like he's on the ragged edge. —ly adv: raggedly dressed —ness n [U]
Rag-ged-y Ann /ˌrægɪdi ˈæn/ trademark a type of RAG DOLL (=doll made from cloth) which is a popular children's toy in the US. She has a large round face, red circles on her cheeks, and hair made from pieces of red wool. The male doll that looks like this is her brother, Raggedy Andy.
rag-lan /ˈræglən/ adj [A] (of an arm of a garment) joined with two sideways lines of sewing from the arm to the neck, instead of being sewn on at the shoulder: a coat with raglan sleeves | a raglan sweater
ra-gout /ræˈguː, ˈræguː||rɑːˈguː/ n [C;U] Fr (a) mixture of vegetables and pieces of meat boiled together; STEW
,rags-to-'riches adj [A] (of a story, a CAREER etc) about a person who comes from a poor background and becomes very successful and wealthy: Her life is a rags-to-riches story.
rag-time /ˈrægtaɪm/ n [U] a type of music, song, and dance of black US origin, popular in the 1920s, in which the strong note of the tune is SYNCOPATED: a ragtime band | a song in ragtime
'rag trade n [the] infml the garment industry, especially the making and selling of women's clothes
rah-rah /ˌrɑː ˈrɑː/ adj AmE interjection an expression meaning HOORAY, often used in order to describe someone who supports something without thinking about it enough: I'm just not a rah-rah American.
raid¹ /reɪd/ n [(on)] 1 a quick attack on an enemy position, not to take control of the place but to do damage: a bombing raid | a cross-border raid | (fig., humor) The hungry children made a raid on the kitchen and took all the cakes. → see also AIR RAID, DAWN RAID 2 a sudden visit by the police, in search of criminals or illegal goods: As a result of the raid three people were charged with possessing illegal drugs.
raid² v [i;T] to visit or attack (a place) on a raid: Police raided the club. —er n
rail¹ /reɪl/ n 1 [C] a fixed bar, especially one to hang things on or for protection: Keep your hand on the rail as you climb the steps. | a towel rail 2 [C] either of the pair of metal bars fixed to the ground, along which a train runs: Passengers must not cross the rails. 3 [U] the railway: We'll travel by rail. | rail travel 4 go off the rails to start to behave a) in a strange confused way, as if mad b) in a dishonest or criminal way
rail² v [T(IN, OFF)] to enclose or separate (a place) with rails: They've railed off the garden.
rail³ v [(against, at)] fml to express angry disapproval or complaint: railing against these injustices
Rail-card /ˈreɪlkɑːd||-kɑːrd/ n a special card sold in the UK to particular groups of people, such as PENSIONERS and families, which allows them to buy rail tickets for less than the normal price: If you use your Family Railcard, the kids only pay £2 each.
rail-head /ˈreɪlhed/ n the end of a railway track
rail-ing /ˈreɪlɪŋ/ n [often pl.] any of a set of rails making up a fence: The dog got its head stuck between the railings. → compare BANISTER, HANDRAIL
rail-le-ry /ˈreɪləri/ n [U] fml friendly joking at someone's weakness; teasing (TEASE)
rail-road¹ /ˈreɪlrəd/ n AmE a railway
railroad² v [T] 1 [(into)] to hurry (someone) with unfair pressure: The workers were railroaded into signing the agreement. 2 [(through)] to pass (a law) or carry out (a plan) quickly