rabble

/ˈræbəl/

/ˈræbəl/

Other forms: rabbles

A rabble is a noisy gathering of people. The police might arrive to calm the rabble that crowds the sidewalks after a huge win for the local football team.

You can use the noun rabble for any mob of angry or excited people, whether it's a political gathering or a rowdy celebration. Rabble also means "commoners," but it's a snobby and somewhat offensive way to talk about ordinary folks: "The king preferred to stay inside his castle, far away from the rabble." Originally, rabble meant "pack of animals."

Definitions of rabble

1. noun

   a disorderly crowd of people
   synonyms: mob, rout

   types:

   lynch mob

   a mob that kills a person for some presumed offense without legal authority

   type of:

   crowd

   a large number of things or people considered together
2. noun

   disparaging terms for the common people
   synonyms: ragtag, ragtag and bobtail, riffraff

   types:

   scum, trash

   worthless people

   type of:

   common people, folk, folks

   people in general (often used in the plural)