raft

¹

[raft, rahft]

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.

verb (used with object)

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)

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

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

raft

²

[raft, rahft]

noun

Informal.

1. a great quantity; a lot.

   a whole raft of trouble.

raft

¹

/ 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

verb

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

raft

²

/ rɑːft /

noun

1. informal,  a large collection or amount

   a raft of old notebooks discovered in a cupboard

Other Word Forms

• rafting noun

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of raft¹

C15: from Old Norse raptr _rafter

Origin of raft²

C19: from _raff

Example Sentences

There has also been growing concern after a raft of outages in recent months.

Read more on Barron's

Welsh rugby uncertainty makes it likely that a raft of in-demand players whose contracts expire in the summer – including forwards Morgan, Dewi Lake and Aaron Wainwright – will look elsewhere.

Read more on BBC

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the government was "calling time" on "rogue landlords" by initiating a raft of measures in the Renters' Rights Act.

Read more on BBC

Around 2018 when a raft of fashion houses joined everyone else in ditching their serif logos for wingless alternatives, something flipped.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Republicans in 2023 passed a raft of tort reforms cracking down on lawsuit abuse.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• barge 
• boat 
• life raft 
• lifeboat