From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishraggedrag‧ged /ˈræɡɪd/ adjective 1 clothes etc (also raggedy /ˈræɡədi/ especially American English)TEAR torn and in bad condition the ragged blankets on the bed a raggedy hat2 peopleDCCONDITION/STATE OF something wearing clothes that are old and torn Crowds of ragged children played among the rocks.3 uneven (also raggedy)CFUNTIDY having a rough uneven edge or surface The old photograph looked a little ragged at the edges. a ragged hole raggedy hair4 not regular not regular or together The crowd gave a ragged cheer. ragged breathing5 tired informalTIRED tired after using a lot of effort He looked ragged, so I told him to go to bed. He ran United’s defence ragged (=made them do a lot of work).6 → be on the ragged edge —raggedly adverb raggedly dressed She was breathing raggedly. —raggedness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
ragged• The blanket she wore over her shoulders was ragged and filthy.• Much of Cassidy's concert seemed ragged and under-rehearsed.• She looked quite ragged and unkempt.• He was educated at Guthries, a school for ragged boys, where he was subjected to frequent beatings.• Through his increasingly deep, ragged breathing, he said her name once, twice.• The three boys should have been at school with their ragged clothes, crew cuts and sullen eyes.• A man in ragged clothes was begging on the corner.• He touched his ragged hat as she passed.• Dead, ragged heads of the climbing hydrangea can be removed, cutting where the stem joins the main branch.• Alex was wearing ragged jeans with holes in the knees.• Trim ragged lawn edges with the aid of a half-moon edging iron.• a ragged shoreline• But, for the data analyst who is prepared to use judgement as well as arithmetic, smoothing can clarify many otherwise ragged situations.• Bev's voice was ragged with fatigue.ran ... ragged• For 20 minutes Middlesbrough ran us ragged.• As I said Tillo ran him ragged at some stages in the game.• Arsenal could easily have trebled their score as they ran Liverpool ragged in the second half. 