riffs

Noun (1)

riff (plural riffs)

1. A repeated melody line in a song, usually instrumental but sometimes vocal.
   • Listen to one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time!
2. A clever or witty remark.
   • Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life2015 September 27, “Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life”, in USA Today
3. A variation on something.
   • Both the Orbit and the Pinnacle are riffs on an idea sketched out in 1917 by Vladimir Tatlin for a monument to international communism.2012, The Economist, London Skyline: Tower Power
4. A spoof.
   • The creative team has experience with spoofing: Both [Paul] Rudd and [Amy] Poehler had parts in [David] Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer, a hysterically irreverent riff on ’80s summer-camp comedies.2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2017

Noun (2)

riff (plural riffs)

1. (archaic) The belly; the bowels.

See all 8 meanings of riff