A rags-to-riches story is about someone who starts life very poor and later becomes very rich. Rags here are old, torn clothes — a picture of having almost nothing — and riches means great wealth. You hear it in newspapers, films, and talk about famous people. It often feels a little American, and it is a ready-made story shape, so it can sound smoother than real life, which is usually messier. People use it as an adjective before story, rise, or tale: a rags-to-riches story. It is not a verb, and it does not mean the person literally wore rags.

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