Riffraff vs. Riprap — What's the Difference?

People regarded as disreputable or worthless.

Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. Ripraps are used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, foundational infrastructure supports and other shoreline structures against erosion.

Rubbish; trash.

Piled broken stones used as a foundation or to stabilize an easily eroded bank or slope.

The rabble; crowds; the common people.

An assemblage of such broken stones.

Sweepings; refuse.

To construct a riprap in or on.

Sweepings; refuse; the lowest order of society.

To strengthen with a riprap.

Disparaging terms for the common people

An underwater bank seen as a danger to shipping.

Rocks or other materials used to shore up an embankment, deter or prevent erosion, guide shipping, or serve as a temporary mooring.

To form a riprap in or upon.

A foundation or sustaining wall of stones thrown together without order, as in deep water or on a soft bottom, or in a river channel.

To form a riprap in or upon.