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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

riff.

A repeated melody line in a song, usually instrumental but sometimes vocal.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɹɪf/
  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.

  3. A variation on something.

  4. A spoof.

Where this word comes from

Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.

verb/ɹɪf/
  1. To improvise in the performance or practice of an art, especially by expanding on or making novel use of traditional themes.

  2. To riffle.

  3. To tell jokes over a movie or similar performance.

Where this word comes from

Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.

noun/ɹɪf/
  1. The belly; the bowels.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

From Middle English *rif (found only in midrif), from Old English hrif (“the belly; womb”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrif, from Proto-Germanic *hrefaz (“body; torso; belly”), from Proto-Indo-European *krep- (“body”). Distant doublet of corpus, corpse, and corse.

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riff studioriff workshello, riff

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.