rag off
C1 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To wipe or clean something with a cloth, or to tell someone off.
Literal meaning: To take a rag and wipe something off — to clean by rubbing with a cloth.
Meanings
1 C1 informal
To remove or clean something by wiping with a rag or cloth.
"After applying the wood stain, she ragged off the excess to leave a smooth, even finish."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Rare and not well-established as a standard phrasal verb. The cleaning sense (to wipe with a rag) is used in craft, painting, and woodworking contexts. The sense of telling someone off or criticizing is even rarer, and may be a regional or idiosyncratic use. Not widely found in corpora. Learners should prefer 'wipe off' for cleaning and 'rag on' for teasing.
Commonly used with
surface paint excess furniture stain
Forms
Base
rag off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
rags off
he/she/it
Past simple
raged off
yesterday
Past participle
raged off
have + pp
-ing form
raging off
continuous
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