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Synonyms

raid

American  
[reyd] / reɪd /

noun

  1. a sudden assault or attack, as upon something to be seized or suppressed.

    a police raid on a gambling ring.

    Synonyms:
    seizure
  2. Military. a sudden attack on the enemy, as by air or by a small land force.

    Synonyms:
    inroad, invasion, incursion
  3. a vigorous, large-scale effort to lure away a competitor's employees, members, etc.

  4. Finance. a concerted attempt of speculators to force stock prices down.


verb (used with object)

  1. to make a raid on.

  2. to steal from; loot.

    a worry that the investment fund is being raided.

  3. to entice away from another.

    Large companies are raiding key personnel from smaller companies.

  4. to indulge oneself by taking from, especially in order to eat.

    raiding the cookie jar.

verb (used without object)

  1. to engage in a raid.

raid British  
/ reɪd /

noun

  1. a sudden surprise attack

    an air raid

  2. a surprise visit by police searching for criminals or illicit goods

    a fraud-squad raid

  3. See also bear raid dawn raid

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to make a raid against (a person, thing, etc)

  2. to sneak into (a place) in order to take something, steal, etc

    raiding the larder

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • counterraid noun
  • raider noun
  • unraided adjective

Etymology

Origin of raid

1375–1425; Middle English (north and Scots ) ra ( i ) de, Old English rād expedition, literally, a riding; doublet of road

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.

Coplan marked the one-year anniversary of the FBI raid by posting on X a picture of a cake.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Rams have a successful season and other NFL teams raid his coaching staff.

From Los Angeles Times

Last year, a new problem emerged for the area — immigration raids.

From Los Angeles Times

For the two months that federal agents have been conducting immigration raids in Minneapolis, Ana, Carlos and their son Luis have locked themselves in at home, feeling trapped behind their own deadbolt.

From Barron's

Macias remembers how a raid on his own store spread fear in the community.

From BBC