Word.ws English Dictionary

red rag

red rag noun: something that will enrage another particular person.

Noun

red rag (plural red rags)

  1. (figuratively) Something that will enrage another particular person.
    • Collins dictionaries has announced that the inclusion of 2,000 new words in its forthcoming new edition means that some of the dustier corners of its lexicon will have to be swept into the semantic dustbin. Farewell embranglement, recrement, fusby and numerous others. This will be a red rag to...2008 September 24, Lindesay Irvine, “Collins, we're lost for words: let's call your bluff”, in guardian.co.uk
  2. (derogatory, obsolete, slang) A person's tongue.
    • For well I know by your glib tongue, / To what fine country you belong, / And if your red rag did not shew it, / By your queer fancies I should know it.1869, William Combe, Thomas Rolandson, The Three Tours of Doctor Syntax, page 194

Forms of red rag

pluralred rags

Origin of red rag

Ellipsis of red rag to a bull.

Questions about red rag

What does red rag mean?
Red rag means something that will enrage another particular person.
What part of speech is red rag?
Red rag is a noun.
What is the plural of red rag?
The plural of red rag is red rags.

Words near red rag in the dictionary

  1. red pumpkin bugs
  2. red pussy hair
  3. red pussy hairs
  4. Red Queen hypothesis
  5. Red Queen's hypothesis
  6. red rag
  7. red rag to a bull
  8. red rags
  9. red rags to a bull
  10. red rags to bulls
  11. red rail

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: red rag (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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