1 C1 idiomatic informal
To dress someone up elaborately or in one's finest clothes.
"She was ragged out in her best dress for the evening's gala."
separable
rag out
C1 informal separable transitive
To dress someone up in elaborate or fine clothing; or informally, to scold or reprimand someone sharply.
In plain English
To dress someone up very nicely (or in a showy way), or to tell someone off angrily.
What does "rag out" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic informal
To scold or reprimand someone harshly.
"The sergeant ragged out the new recruits for arriving late to formation."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To put rags (clothes) on someone — with 'out' suggesting completeness or elaborateness.
Actually means
To dress someone up very nicely (or in a showy way), or to tell someone off angrily.
Usage tip
Two quite different senses exist. The dressing sense (to clothe elaborately) is older and may now be regional or archaic. The scolding sense is found in some American dialects and informal speech. Both senses are uncommon in standard modern usage. 'Ragged out' in the dressing sense can mean dressed up in one's finest clothes.
Words that pair with "rag out"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
clothes finest uniform sharply angrily
How to conjugate "rag out"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
rag out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
rags out
he/she/it
Past simple
raged out
yesterday
Past participle
raged out
have + pp
-ing form
raging out
continuous
Hear "rag out" in the wild
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