Meaning of riff | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A repeated melody line in a song, usually instrumental but sometimes vocal.
2. Acronym of Resource Interchange File Format.
   abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
3. The belly; the bowels.
   archaic
4. A clever or witty remark.
5. A variation on something.
6. A spoof.

Equivalents

Examples

“Listen to one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time!”

“Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has been named the greatest guitar riff of all time, 41 years after it was recorded, in a poll by website Music Radar.”

“Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life”

“Both the Orbit and the Pinnacle are riffs on an idea sketched out in 1917 by Vladimir Tatlin for a monument to international communism.”

“Grok’s companions are a riff on the idea of AI assistants or agents, which some people use for friendship or romance in place of or in addition to human partners.”

“The creative team has experience with spoofing: Both [Paul] Rudd and [Amy] Poehler had parts in [David] Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer, a hysterically irreverent riff on ’80s summer-camp comedies.”

CEFR level