riot

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ri·ot

(rī′ət)

1. A wild or turbulent disturbance created by a large number of people.

2. Law A violent disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled for a common purpose.

3. An unrestrained outbreak, as of laughter or passions.

4. A profusion: The garden was a riot of colors in August.

a. Unrestrained merrymaking; revelry.

b. Debauchery.

6. Slang An irresistibly funny person or thing: Isn't she a riot?

v. ri·ot·ed, ri·ot·ing, ri·ots

v.intr.

1. To take part in a riot.

2. To live wildly or engage in uncontrolled revelry.

v.tr.

To waste (money or time) in wild or wanton living: "rioted his life out, and made an end" (Tennyson).

[Middle English, from Old French, dispute, from rioter, to quarrel, perhaps from ruire, to roar, from Latin rūgīre.]

ri′ot·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

riot

(ˈraɪət)

a. a disturbance made by an unruly mob or (in law) three or more persons; tumult or uproar

b. (as modifier): a riot gun; riot police; a riot shield.

2. boisterous activity; unrestrained revelry

3. an occasion of boisterous merriment

4. slang a person who occasions boisterous merriment

5. a dazzling or arresting display: a riot of colour.

6. (Hunting) hunting the indiscriminate following of any scent by hounds

7. archaic wanton lasciviousness

8. run riot

a. to behave wildly and without restraint

b. (of plants) to grow rankly or profusely

9. (intr) to take part in a riot

10. (intr) to indulge in unrestrained revelry or merriment

11. (foll by: away) to spend (time or money) in wanton or loose living: he has rioted away his life.

[C13: from Old French riote dispute, from ruihoter to quarrel, probably from ruir to make a commotion, from Latin rugīre to roar]

ˈrioter n

ˈrioting n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ri•ot

(ˈraɪ ət)

n.

1. a noisy, violent public disorder caused by a group or crowd of persons.

2. Law. a disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons acting together in a violent or tumultuous manner.

3. violent or wild disorder or confusion.

4. a profuse or unrestrained outpouring, display, etc., as of emotions or phenomena.

5. something or someone hilariously funny: You were a riot at the party.

6. unrestrained revelry.

7. loose, wanton living; profligacy.

v.i.

8. to take part in a violent public disorder or disturbance.

9. to live in a loose or wanton manner; indulge in unrestrained revelry.

v.t.

10. to spend (money, time, etc.) in riotous living (usu. fol. by away or out).

Idioms:

run riot, to behave with wild abandon.

[1175–1225; (n.) debauchery, revel < Old French riot(e) debate, quarrel; (v.) Middle English < Old French rihoter, to quarrel]

ri′ot•er, n.

Riot

an unrestrained outburst; an uncontrollable company or assemblage of persons, 1400.

Examples: riot of laughter; of Romans, 1400; of students—Madden; of words.

riot

Past participle: rioted
Gerund: rioting

Imperative
riot
riot

Present
I riot
you riot
he/she/it riots
we riot
you riot
they riot

Preterite
I rioted
you rioted
he/she/it rioted
we rioted
you rioted
they rioted

Present Continuous
I am rioting
you are rioting
he/she/it is rioting
we are rioting
you are rioting
they are rioting

Present Perfect
I have rioted
you have rioted
he/she/it has rioted
we have rioted
you have rioted
they have rioted

Past Continuous
I was rioting
you were rioting
he/she/it was rioting
we were rioting
you were rioting
they were rioting

Past Perfect
I had rioted
you had rioted
he/she/it had rioted
we had rioted
you had rioted
they had rioted

Future
I will riot
you will riot
he/she/it will riot
we will riot
you will riot
they will riot

Future Perfect
I will have rioted
you will have rioted
he/she/it will have rioted
we will have rioted
you will have rioted
they will have rioted

Future Continuous
I will be rioting
you will be rioting
he/she/it will be rioting
we will be rioting
you will be rioting
they will be rioting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been rioting
you have been rioting
he/she/it has been rioting
we have been rioting
you have been rioting
they have been rioting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been rioting
you will have been rioting
he/she/it will have been rioting
we will have been rioting
you will have been rioting
they will have been rioting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been rioting
you had been rioting
he/she/it had been rioting
we had been rioting
you had been rioting
they had been rioting

Conditional
I would riot
you would riot
he/she/it would riot
we would riot
you would riot
they would riot

Past Conditional
I would have rioted
you would have rioted
he/she/it would have rioted
we would have rioted
you would have rioted
they would have rioted

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	riot - a public act of violence by an unruly mob public violence violence, force - an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists); "he may accomplish by craft in the long run what he cannot do by force and violence in the short one" race riot - a riot caused by hatred for one another of members of different races in the same community
	2.	riot - a state of disorder involving group violence rioting disorder - a disturbance of the peace or of public order
	3.	riot - a joke that seems extremely funny howler, sidesplitter, thigh-slapper, wow, belly laugh, scream gag, jape, jest, joke, laugh - a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at his own jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point"
	4.	riot - a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity debauch, debauchery, drunken revelry, bacchanalia, saturnalia, bacchanal, orgy revel, revelry - unrestrained merrymaking
Verb	1.	riot - take part in a riot; disturb the public peace by engaging in a riot; "Students were rioting everywhere in 1968" rampage - act violently, recklessly, or destructively
	2.	riot - engage in boisterous, drunken merrymaking; "They were out carousing last night" carouse, roister jollify, make happy, make merry, make whoopie, racket, wassail, whoop it up, revel - celebrate noisily, often indulging in drinking; engage in uproarious festivities; "The members of the wedding party made merry all night"; "Let's whoop it up--the boss is gone!"

riot

noun

1. disturbance, row, disorder, confusion, turmoil, quarrel, upheaval, fray, strife, uproar, turbulence, commotion, lawlessness, street fighting, tumult, donnybrook, mob violence Twelve inmates have been killed during a riot.

2. display, show, splash, flourish, extravaganza, profusion The garden was a riot of colour.

3. laugh, joke, scream (informal), blast (U.S. slang), hoot (informal), lark It was a riot when I introduced my two cousins!

verb

1. rampage, take to the streets, run riot, run amok, run wild, go on the rampage, fight in the streets, cause an affray, raise an uproar They rioted in protest against the government.

run riot

1. rampage, go wild, be out of control, raise hell, let yourself go, break or cut loose, throw off all restraint Rampaging prisoners ran riot through the jail.

2. grow profusely, burgeon, luxuriate, spread like wildfire, grow like weeds Virginia creeper ran riot up the walls.

Quotations
"A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard" [Martin Luther King Jr Where Do We Go From Here?]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

riot

noun

1. A quarrel, fight, or disturbance marked by very noisy, disorderly, and often violent behavior:

affray, brawl, broil, donnybrook, fray, free-for-all, melee, row, ruction, tumult.

Informal: fracas.

Slang: rumble.

2. Slang. Something or someone uproariously funny or absurd:

absurdity.

Informal: hoot, joke, laugh, scream.

Slang: gas, howl, panic.

Idiom: a laugh a minute.

verb

To behave riotously:

carouse, frolic, revel, roister.

Informal: hell (around).

Idioms: blow off steam, cut loose, kick over the traces, kick up one's heels, let go, let loose, make merry, make whoopee, paint the town red, raise Cain, whoop it up.

phrasal verb
riot away

To spend (money) excessively and usually foolishly:

consume, dissipate, fool away, fritter away, squander, throw away, trifle away, waste.

Slang: blow.

Translations

Spanish / Español

Select a language:

disturbio motín alboroto amotinarse causar disturbios

riot

[ˈraɪət]

A. N

1. (= uprising) → disturbio m, motín m; (in prison) → amotinamiento m, sublevación f
there was nearly a riot → hubo casi un motín
to put down a riot → controlar un disturbio

2. (fig) a riot of colour → un derroche de color
to run riot (= go out of control) → desmandarse; (= spread) → extenderse por todas partes, cubrirlo todo
to let one's imagination run riot → dejar volar la imaginación

3. (fig) (= wild success) → exitazo m
it was a riot! → ¡fue divertidísimo!, ¡fue la monda!
he's a riot! → ¡es un tipo desternillante!, ¡te mondas de risa con él!

B. VI → amotinarse

C. CPD riot act N to read sb the riot act → leerle la cartilla a algn
riot gear N → uniforme m antidisturbios
riot police N → policía f antidisturbios
riot shield N → escudo m antidisturbios
riot squad N = riot police

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

riot

(ˈraiət) noun

a noisy disturbance created by a usually large group of people. The protest march developed into a riot.disturbio, motín

verb

to form or take part in a riot. The protesters were rioting in the street.amotinarse; participar en disturbios

ˈrioter noun

amotinado; alborotador

ˈriotous adjective

1. starting, or likely to start, a riot. a riotous crowd.alborotador

2. very active, noisy and cheerful. a riotous party.bullicioso; desenfrenado

ˈriotously adverb

alborotadoramente; bulliciosamente; desenfrenadamente

ˈriotousness noun

alboroto, bullicio

run riot

to behave wildly; to go out of control. desmandarse, desenfrenarse, dar rienda suelta a

riot

→ causar disturbios , disturbio

References in classic literature ?

No account of the Gordon Riots having been to my knowledge introduced into any Work of Fiction, and the subject presenting very extraordinary and remarkable features, I was led to project this Tale.

But perhaps we do not know it in our hearts too well, to profit by even so humble an example as the 'No Popery' riots of Seventeen Hundred and Eighty.

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The Nantucketer, he alone resides and riots on the sea; he alone, in Bible language, goes down to it in ships; to and fro ploughing it as his own special plantation.

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And sad the hour when all ripe things must pass, For sweetness and decay are of one stem, And sweetness ever riots to decay.

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Now, a minister who gets up a riot against his king -- exposes himself "

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"Miss Morland, do not mind what he says; but have the goodness to satisfy me as to this dreadful riot."

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These reactionary groups attacked the revolutionary groups, and also, at needed moments, rioted and destroyed property so as to afford the Autocracy the pretext of calling out the Cossacks.

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"We don't riot, we're following the orders," declared Karp, and at that moment several voices began speaking together.

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And then something happened which almost caused a riot.

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There was riot and confusion enough in the treasury, but no violence that I saw.

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"Well, sir," said the queen, "what is your opinion of this riot?"

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While I was allowing my fancy to run riot in wild conjecture on the possible explanation of the strange anomalies which I had so far met with on Mars, Sola returned bearing both food and drink.

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