Definition of "ragamuffin" [rag•a•muf•fin]

• A shabbily clothed, dirty child. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "But be quick, now, and play up, or I 'll drive that ragamuffin from the church grounds in disgrace and by force!"
• "The word ragamuffin, "he adds, with characteristic determination to be exact,"
• "She approached the girl, who Ziman says looked like a "ragamuffin" with dreadlocks and a caked face."