raid
Americannoun
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a sudden assault or attack, as upon something to be seized or suppressed.
a police raid on a gambling ring.
- Synonyms:
- seizure
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Military. a sudden attack on the enemy, as by air or by a small land force.
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a vigorous, large-scale effort to lure away a competitor's employees, members, etc.
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Finance. a concerted attempt of speculators to force stock prices down.
verb (used with object)
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to make a raid on.
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to steal from; loot.
a worry that the investment fund is being raided.
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to entice away from another.
Large companies are raiding key personnel from smaller companies.
-
to indulge oneself by taking from, especially in order to eat.
raiding the cookie jar.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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to make a raid against (a person, thing, etc)
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to sneak into (a place) in order to take something, steal, etc
raiding the larder
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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raidsimple
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raidssimple
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have raidedperfect
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has raidedperfect
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am raidingprogressive
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are raidingprogressive
-
is raidingprogressive
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have been raidingperfect progressive
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has been raidingperfect progressive
Past
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raidedsimple
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had raidedperfect
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was raidingprogressive
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were raidingprogressive
-
had been raidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of raid
1375–1425; Middle English (north and Scots ) ra ( i ) de, Old English rād expedition, literally, a riding; doublet of road
Explanation
A raid is a military attack, especially a quick surprise attack. The word comes from the military but has spread out — police might raid a shady nightclub to find bad guys, or a babysitter might raid the refrigerator. When an army launches a raid, you can say they raid, or attack abruptly. This verb can also be used to mean "search" or "enter unexpectedly," as when police officers raid a suspect's home or summer campers' raid a neighboring cabin. The military meaning is the oldest, and the word comes from the Scottish rade, "a riding" or "a journey," from the Old English rad, which is also the root of road.
Vocabulary lists containing raid
Chinese History - Introductory
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Indiana Jones Vocabulary
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Chinese History - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the May 16, 2026, print edition as 'Washington State’s Pension Raid'.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
The term predatory incursion is also used literally in writings of that period to refer to slightly smaller attacks like the 1781 Raid on Richmond led by American defector Benedict Arnold.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2025
But the fit with Riley, an Air Raid protege of Leach, felt seamless.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2024
As the first chief royal engineer and one of the founding members of the 1st Airborne Division, Sir Mark was "integral" to the planning of the Bruneval Raid in 1942.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2024
Do you know of the Jameson Raid, described as a “fiasco”? Marvellous punctuation story.
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
