raid
Americannoun
-
raids
plural
-
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.
-
a vigorous, large-scale effort to lure away a competitor's employees, members, etc.
-
Finance. a concerted attempt of speculators to force stock prices down.
verb (used with object)
-
raids,
present (3rd person singular)
-
raided,
past participle, past
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raiding
present participle
-
to make a raid on.
-
to steal from; loot.
a worry that the investment fund is being raided.
-
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)
-
raids,
present (3rd person singular)
-
raided,
past participle, past
-
raiding
present participle
noun
verb
-
to make a raid against (a person, thing, etc)
-
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
-
raidsimple
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raidssimple
-
have raidedperfect
-
has raidedperfect
-
am raidingprogressive
-
are raidingprogressive
-
is raidingprogressive
-
have been raidingperfect progressive
-
has been raidingperfect progressive
Past
-
raidedsimple
-
had raidedperfect
-
was raidingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
In June 2025, after the police raid, she submitted a petition that was published on the website of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The drone came during yet another air raid alert.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Immigration agents had staged a mass raid of Ambiance Apparel in L.A.’s Fashion District.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
In 2018, Israel admitted carrying out a top-secret air raid against the site 11 years earlier.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
The encounter with his boy’s father had left him too wary to attempt another raid.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
To avoid police raids, kids strategized, coming up with systems that would keep party and rave sites secret until the last minute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Responding to the criticism, Mundhe said his raids are lawful and that suspensions are only for extreme cases.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Large numbers of Palestinian security forces were deployed for the event, an unusual sight in the town more accustomed to Israeli military raids.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
It was the start of a summer of raids that soon went nationwide and have never really ended.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Wide Patrols began as mere forays or raids, led by Woundwort, into the surrounding country.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
According to his own evidence, his reptile collection was first raided when he was a boy of 14.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Mundubile took refuge the day after the August 13 election at an international human rights organisation after police raided his home in an operation against the opposition.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
In South Africa, seven sites linked to a syndicate involved in romance and investment scams were raided.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
When she learned the bookshop had been raided by police in late June, Zhu broke into tears: "I was devastated."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
I also learned that our house had been raided and the police had detained a young relative of Winnie’s.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In October 1916, in Tujunga Canyon near Sunland, a farmer named Cornelius Johnson set out a trap for a bear that had been raiding his grapevines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
“They’re raiding the Smithsonian,” said Joe Stief, a Virginia-based investment firm associate who oversees Keep the Shuttle, a 4,000-member advocacy group opposed to the move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
It would merely be a different flavor of raiding the Treasury for personal gain.
From Slate ● May 16, 2026
“A 29% rate of pre-retirees raiding 10% or more of savings for a family emergency means people are going into retirement short,” Judge said.
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
Chicago’s newspapers reported ghoulish tales of doctors raiding graveyards.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
