raise
to move to a higher position; lift up; elevate: to raise one's hand; sleepy birds raising their heads and looking about.
to set upright: When the projection screen toppled, he quickly raised it again.
to cause to rise or stand up; rouse: The sound of the bugle raised him from his bed.
to build; erect: to raise a monument.
to set up the framework of: to raise a house.
to set in motion; activate: to raise a storm of protest.
to grow or breed, care for, or promote the growth of: to raise corn; to raise prizewinning terriers.
to serve in the capacity of parent to; rear: to raise children.
to give rise to; bring up or about: His comments raised a ripple of applause.
to put forward; present for public consideration: He raised the issue of his opponent's eligibility.
Law. to make (an issue at law).
to restore to life: to raise the dead.
to stir up: to raise a rebellion with stirring speeches.
to give vigor to; animate: The news raised his spirits.
to advance in rank or position: to raise someone to the peerage.
to assemble or collect: to raise an army; to raise money for a charity.
to increase the height or vertical measurement of: The blocks raise the table three inches.
to increase in degree, intensity, pitch, or force: to raise the volume of a radio.
to utter (a cry, shout, etc.) in a loud voice.
to cause (the voice) to be heard: to raise one's voice in opposition.
to cause (dough or bread) to rise by expansion and become light, as by the use of yeast.
to increase in amount: to raise rents; to raise salaries.
to increase (the value or price) of a commodity, stock, bond, etc.
Poker.
to increase (another player's bet).
to bet at a higher level than (a preceding bettor).
Bridge. to increase (the bid for a contract) by repeating one's partner's bid at a higher level.
Phonetics. to alter the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue closer to the palate: The vowel in “pen” is raised to (i) in some dialects.
to increase the amount specified in (a check, money order, or the like) by fraudulent alteration.
Military. to end (a siege) by withdrawing the besieging forces or by compelling the besieging forces to withdraw.
Nautical.
to cause (something) to rise above the visible horizon by approaching it.
to come in sight of (land, a whale, etc.).
to establish communication with by radio: The radioman was able to raise shore headquarters after three tries.
Mining. to excavate (an opening) upward from a level below.
to be able to be lifted or pulled up: The window raises easily.
(in cards, poker, etc.) to increase a previous bet or bid: My cards weren't good enough to let me raise.
an increase in amount, as of wages: a raise in pay.
the amount of such an increase: His raise was five dollars.
a raising, lifting, etc.: a raise in spirits.
a raised or ascending place; rise.
Mining. a shaft excavated upward from below.: Compare winze1.
Idioms about raise
raise Cain. Cain1 (def. 3).
Origin of raise
1synonym study For raise
confusables note For raise
Rise is almost exclusively intransitive in its standard uses. Its forms are irregular: My husband usually rises before seven. The earliest I have ever risen is eight. The sun rose in a cloudless sky. The dough is rising now.
Both raise and rear are used in the United States to refer to the upbringing of children. Although raise was formerly condemned in this sense (“You raise hogs but you rear children”), it is now standard.
In American English, a person receives a raise in salary. In British English it is a rise.
Other words for raise
Opposites for raise
Other words from raise
- rais·a·ble, raise·a·ble, adjective
- raiser, noun
- non·rais·a·ble, adjective
- non·raise·a·ble, adjective
- re·raise, verb (used with object), re·raised, re·rais·ing.
- un·rais·a·ble, adjective
- un·raise·a·ble, adjective
Words that may be confused with raise
Words Nearby raise
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use raise in a sentence
His wife passed away and they had kids, and he wanted to focus on being a dad so he just stopped to raise his kids.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness | Marlow Stern | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThese brave souls took an icy dip in the ocean to ring in 2015 and raise money for charity.
Diving Into 2015 With Polar Bear Plunge Extremists | James Joiner | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWe happily hoist our egg nog in the air, embrace each other, and raise our out-of-tune voices in song.
The Most Confusing Christmas Music Lyrics Explained (VIDEO) | Kevin Fallon | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo with the doors of late night closed to her, Slate had to scale down her ambitions to raise her profile.
The Curious Little Shell That Restarted Jenny Slate’s Career | Luke Hopping | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWe are gathered for one reason and one reason alone—to raise money to help fulfill that dream and that purpose.
How Richard Pryor Beat Bill Cosby and Transformed America | David Yaffe, Scott Saul | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I called out several times, as loud as I could raise my voice, but all to no purpose.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan SwiftThey determined that an offensive war should be carried on against them, and voted to raise 90 men!
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellThe minister's eye kept steady to one point; to raise the country he governed, to the utmost pinnacle of earthly grandeur.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterTo meet this heavy expense the ministers had to devise all sorts of expedients to raise money.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonWould Hodson, knowing the exceeding importance of his mission, have turned to rescue a servant or raise a fallen horse?
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
British Dictionary definitions for raise
/ (reɪz) /
to move, cause to move, or elevate to a higher position or level; lift
to set or place in an upright position
to construct, build, or erect: to raise a barn
to increase in amount, size, value, etc: to raise prices
to increase in degree, strength, intensity, etc: to raise one's voice
to advance in rank or status; promote
to arouse or awaken from or as if from sleep or death
to stir up or incite; activate: to raise a mutiny
raise Cain, raise the devil, raise hell or raise the roof
to create a boisterous disturbance
to react or protest heatedly
to give rise to; cause or provoke: to raise a smile
to put forward for consideration: to raise a question
to cause to assemble or gather together; collect: to raise an army
to grow or cause to grow: to raise a crop
to bring up; rear: to raise a family
to cause to be heard or known; utter or express: to raise a shout; to raise a protest
to bring to an end; remove: to raise a siege; raise a ban
to cause (dough, bread, etc) to rise, as by the addition of yeast
poker to bet more than (the previous player)
bridge to bid (one's partner's suit) at a higher level
nautical to cause (something) to seem to rise above the horizon by approaching: we raised land after 20 days
to establish radio communications with: we managed to raise Moscow last night
to obtain (money, funds, capital, etc)
to bring (a surface, a design, etc) into relief; cause to project
to cause (a blister, welt, etc) to form on the skin, to expel (phlegm) by coughing
phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth
maths to multiply (a number) by itself a specified number of times: 8 is 2 raised to the power 3
to institute (a suit or action at law)
to draw up (a summons)
mainly US and Canadian to increase the amount payable on (a cheque, money order, etc) fraudulently
curling to push (a stone) towards the tee with another stone
raise an eyebrow
Also: raise one's eyebrows to look quizzical or surprised
to give rise to doubt or disapproval
raise one's glass to to drink the health of; drink a toast to
raise one's hat old-fashioned to take one's hat briefly off one's head as a greeting or mark of respect
the act or an instance of raising
mainly US and Canadian an increase, esp in salary, wages, etc; rise
Origin of raise
1Derived forms of raise
- raisable or raiseable, adjective
- raiser, noun
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 Idioms and Phrases with raise
In addition to the idioms beginning with raise
- raise a hand against
- raise an objection
- raise a stink
- raise Cain
- raise eyebrows
- raise havoc
- raise hell
- raise one's hackles
- raise one's sights
- raise one's voice
- raise the ante
- raise the curtain
- raise the devil
- raise the roof
also see:
- cause raised eyebrows
- curtain raiser
- make (raise) a stink
- play (raise) havoc
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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