raft

¹ American  

[raft, rahft] / ræft, rɑft /

noun

1. a more or less rigid floating platform made of buoyant material or materials.

   an inflatable rubber raft.

2. a collection of logs, planks, casks, etc., fastened together for floating on water.

3. life raft.

4. Building Trades. a slab of reinforced concrete providing a footing on yielding soil, usually for a whole building, so that the weight of the soil that would be displaced by the settlement of the building exceeds the weight of the building itself; mat.

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verb (used with object)

rafts, present (3rd person singular) rafted, past participle, past rafting present participle

1. to transport on a raft.

2. to form (logs or the like) into a raft.

3. to travel or cross by raft.

4. (of an ice floe) to transport (embedded organic or rock debris) from the shore out to sea.

verb (used without object)

rafts, present (3rd person singular) rafted, past participle, past rafting present participle

1. to use a raft; go or travel on a raft.

2. (of an ice floe) to overlap another ice floe.

raft ² American  

[raft, rahft] / ræft, rɑft /

noun

Informal.

1. a great quantity; a lot.

   a whole raft of trouble.

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raft ¹ British  

/ rɑːft /

noun

1. a buoyant platform of logs, planks, etc, used as a vessel or moored platform

2. a thick slab of reinforced concrete laid over soft ground to provide a foundation for a building

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verb

1. to convey on or travel by raft, or make a raft from

raft ² British  

/ rɑːft /

noun

1. informal a large collection or amount

   a raft of old notebooks discovered in a cupboard

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rafting
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• rafting
  present
• rafted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• raft
  simple
• rafts
  simple
• have rafted
  perfect
• has rafted
  perfect
• am rafting
  progressive
• are rafting
  progressive
• is rafting
  progressive
• have been rafting
  perfect progressive
• has been rafting
  perfect progressive

Past

• rafted
  simple
• had rafted
  perfect
• was rafting
  progressive
• were rafting
  progressive
• had been rafting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will raft
  simple
• will have rafted
  perfect
• will be rafting
  progressive
• will have been rafting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of raft¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English raft(e), “(wooden) beam, spear,” from Old Norse raptr rafter ¹

Origin of raft²

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; variant of raff

Explanation

A raft is a vessel or structure that's made to float on water. You might have an inflatable raft you use for floating around your backyard pool. Rafts come in many forms, from soft and squishy to wooden and permanent, like the rafts built on lakes for swimmers to rest on and dive off. Other rafts are mobile — they're small, flat boats meant for transporting people or goods across a river, for example. If you raft, you travel by raft. Experts guess that raft comes from the Old Norse word raptr, "log."

Example Sentences

At first glance, it looked like a small raft of seaweed.

From Slate • Jun. 19, 2026

A raft of interest-rate decisions from central banks including the Federal Reserve and Bank of England are in focus in the week ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

That’s because all four of them reached the same conclusion: Kansas City happens to boast a raft of elite-level training grounds, a temperate climate and a central location.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

In a national address on Sunday aimed at easing tensions, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a raft of new measures to crackdown on illegal migration.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

She moved steadily toward them, pushing the raft, disappearing as each wave rolled over her and popping up when it cleared.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Related Words

• barge
• boat
• life raft
• lifeboat