raise

American  

[reyz] / reɪz /

verb (used with object)

• raises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• raised,
  past participle,  past
• raising
  present participle

1. to move to a higher position; lift up; elevate.

   to raise one's hand; sleepy birds raising their heads and looking about.

   Synonyms:

   lift

   Antonyms:

   lower

2. to set upright.

   When the projection screen toppled, he quickly raised it again.

   Synonyms:

   lift

3. to cause to rise or stand up; rouse.

   The sound of the bugle raised him from his bed.

   Synonyms:

   awaken, arouse

4. to build; erect.

   to raise a monument.

   Synonyms:

   rear, construct

5. to set up the framework of.

   to raise a house.

6. to set in motion; activate.

   to raise a storm of protest.

7. to grow or breed, care for, or promote the growth of.

   to raise corn; to raise prizewinning terriers.

   Synonyms:

   cultivate

8. to serve in the capacity of parent to; rear.

   to raise children.

9. to give rise to; bring up or about.

   His comments raised a ripple of applause.

   Synonyms:

   effect, produce, originate

10. to put forward; present for public consideration.

    He raised the issue of his opponent's eligibility.

11. Law. to make (an issue at law).

12. to restore to life.

    to raise the dead.

13. to stir up.

    to raise a rebellion with stirring speeches.

    Synonyms:

    excite

14. to give vigor to; animate.

    The news raised his spirits.

    Synonyms:

    inspirit, invigorate

15. to advance in rank or position.

    to raise someone to the peerage.

    Synonyms:

    exalt, promote, elevate

16. to assemble or collect.

    to raise an army; to raise money for a charity.

17. to increase the height or vertical measurement of.

    The blocks raise the table three inches.

    Synonyms:

    enlarge, heighten

18. to increase in degree, intensity, pitch, or force.

    to raise the volume of a radio.

    Synonyms:

    augment, amplify

19. to utter (a cry, shout, etc.) in a loud voice.

20. to cause (the voice) to be heard.

    to raise one's voice in opposition.

21. to cause (dough or bread) to rise by expansion and become light, as by the use of yeast.

22. to increase in amount.

    to raise rents; to raise salaries.

23. to increase (the value or price) of a commodity, stock, bond, etc.

24. Poker.

    1. to increase (another player's bet).

    2. to bet at a higher level than (a preceding bettor).

25. Bridge. to increase (the bid for a contract) by repeating one's partner's bid at a higher level.

26. 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.

27. to increase the amount specified in (a check, money order, or the like) by fraudulent alteration.

28. Military. to end (a siege) by withdrawing the besieging forces or by compelling the besieging forces to withdraw.

29. Nautical.

    1. to cause (something) to rise above the visible horizon by approaching it.

    2. to come in sight of (land, a whale, etc.).

30. to establish communication with by radio.

    The radioman was able to raise shore headquarters after three tries.

31. Mining. to excavate (an opening) upward from a level below.

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verb (used without object)

• raises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• raised,
  past participle,  past
• raising
  present participle

1. to be able to be lifted or pulled up.

   The window raises easily.

2. (in cards, poker, etc.) to increase a previous bet or bid.

   My cards weren't good enough to let me raise.

noun

• raises
  plural

1. an increase in amount, as of wages.

   a raise in pay.

2. the amount of such an increase.

   His raise was five dollars.

3. a raising, lifting, etc..

   a raise in spirits.

4. a raised or ascending place; rise.

5. Mining. a shaft excavated upward from below.

idioms

1. raise Cain. Cain.

raise British  

/ reɪz /

verb

1. to move, cause to move, or elevate to a higher position or level; lift

2. to set or place in an upright position

3. to construct, build, or erect

   to raise a barn

4. to increase in amount, size, value, etc

   to raise prices

5. to increase in degree, strength, intensity, etc

   to raise one's voice

6. to advance in rank or status; promote

7. to arouse or awaken from or as if from sleep or death

8. to stir up or incite; activate

   to raise a mutiny

9. 1. to create a boisterous disturbance

   2. to react or protest heatedly

10. to give rise to; cause or provoke

    to raise a smile

11. to put forward for consideration

    to raise a question

12. to cause to assemble or gather together; collect

    to raise an army

13. to grow or cause to grow

    to raise a crop

14. to bring up; rear

    to raise a family

15. to cause to be heard or known; utter or express

    to raise a shout

    to raise a protest

16. to bring to an end; remove

    to raise a siege

    raise a ban

17. to cause (dough, bread, etc) to rise, as by the addition of yeast

18. poker to bet more than (the previous player)

19. bridge to bid (one's partner's suit) at a higher level

20. nautical to cause (something) to seem to rise above the horizon by approaching

    we raised land after 20 days

21. to establish radio communications with

    we managed to raise Moscow last night

22. to obtain (money, funds, capital, etc)

23. to bring (a surface, a design, etc) into relief; cause to project

24. to cause (a blister, welt, etc) to form on the skin

25. phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth

26. maths to multiply (a number) by itself a specified number of times

    8 is 2 raised to the power 3

27. 1. to institute (a suit or action at law)

    2. to draw up (a summons)

28. to increase the amount payable on (a cheque, money order, etc) fraudulently

29. curling to push (a stone) towards the tee with another stone

30. 1. Also: raise one's eyebrows.  to look quizzical or surprised

    2. to give rise to doubt or disapproval

31. to drink the health of; drink a toast to

32. old-fashioned to take one's hat briefly off one's head as a greeting or mark of respect

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noun

1. the act or an instance of raising

2. an increase, esp in salary, wages, etc; rise

raise More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing raise

• cause raised eyebrows
• curtain raiser
• make (raise) a stink
• play (raise) havoc

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Commonly Confused

Raise and rise are similar in form and meaning but different in grammatical use. Raise is the causative of rise; to raise something is to cause it to rise. Raise is almost always used transitively. Its forms are regular: Raise the window. The flag had been raised before we arrived. Raise in the intransitive sense “to rise up, arise” is nonstandard: Dough raises better when the temperature is warm. 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.

Synonym Usage

Raise, lift, heave, hoist imply bringing something up above its original position. Raise, the most general word, may mean to bring something to or toward an upright position with one end resting on the ground; or it may be used in the sense of lift, moving an object a comparatively short distance upward but breaking completely its physical contact with the place where it had been: to raise a ladder; to raise ( lift ) a package. Heave implies lifting with effort or exertion: to heave a huge box onto a truck. Hoist implies lifting slowly and gradually something of considerable weight, usually with mechanical help, such as given by a crane or derrick: to hoist steel beams to the top of the framework of a building.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• raiser
  noun
• reraise
  verb (used with object)
• nonraisable
  adjective
• nonraiseable
  adjective
• raisable
  adjective
• raiseable
  adjective
• unraisable
  adjective
• unraiseable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• raises
  plural

Participles

• raising
  present
• raised
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• raise
  simple
• raises
  simple
• have raised
  perfect
• has raised
  perfect
• am raising
  progressive
• are raising
  progressive
• is raising
  progressive
• have been raising
  perfect progressive
• has been raising
  perfect progressive

Past

• raised
  simple
• had raised
  perfect
• was raising
  progressive
• were raising
  progressive
• had been raising
  perfect progressive

Future

• will raise
  simple
• will have raised
  perfect
• will be raising
  progressive
• will have been raising
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of raise

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English reisen (verb), from Scandinavian (compare Old Norse reisa ); compare also Gothic -raisjan (causative verb formed on Germanic base of Old English rīsan “to rise” ( see rise), Old English rǣran “to rear up” ( see rear ²)

Explanation

If you raise your hand, you put it up in the air. If you raise your daughter, you “bring her up” from childhood to adulthood. And, if you raise the roof, you and a crowd of people cheer wildly for a performer. Raise can be used almost any time you bring something up, either literally: “if you raise the lid on that trap door you will see a secret passage,” or figuratively: “please don't raise the topic of my arachnophobia.” The verb raise comes from the Old English word ræran, which means “to rear,” as in, “do you really want to raise your children in that town?” As a noun, a raise can also mean a salary increase.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

raise raises raised raising

The family started a GoFundMe to raise $10,000 to pay for medical and funeral expenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

Darren Greenaway, who founded the charity, said the Christmas project was "getting bigger and bigger, so this year we need to raise about £200,000".

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

But “Pericles” isn’t a play that should raise purist hackles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

The rosy report gives the Fed more room to raise interest rates at its next meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

She stiffened but did not raise her head.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

The exchange has highlighted different attitudes around parenting, gender and culture, and raises the question - just how important are those three simple words?

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

The research firm raises its 2026 outlook and now expects global notebook shipments to decline by a narrower 9.4%, as stronger-than-expected 1H deliveries help offset an expected slowdown in the 2H.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

When the Fed raises short-term rates, it sends out a signal to the bond markets that it is being vigilant about inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

Hoffman said that like most candidates, she raises money when running for office but those contributions don’t influence her votes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Dad raises his eyebrows but doesn’t say anything.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

The PCC says the "serious concerns raised have been immediately escalated to the Chief Superintendent of Birmingham Local Policing Area".

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Lomonaco and the restaurant’s owners formed Windows of Hope, a charitable foundation that raised more than $22 million to pay for healthcare and tuition costs for the children of the victims.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

The private company has raised more than $1 billion and was valued at $5.6 billion last November, according to FactSet.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026

My oldest, who is 14, ducks behind our raised garden beds, where orange marigolds and sprawling tomato branches shield her from his view.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

He raised his head, opened one eye, did a perfect double take—both eyes opening wide—and sat up.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

In 2023, the Texas Legislature unanimously passed a law raising auto insurance costs for Texans by $1 to combat rampant catalytic converter theft.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

But stopping the flood risks from rising over the next century means expensive investment in flood defences, raising runways, or even moving airports.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

As those cost buffers fade, manufacturers may have to choose between raising prices, accepting lower profit margins, or risking weaker demand, it adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

He was helped to his feet by rescuers, and later carried on the backs of the emergency workers, raising his hand as they took him towards a helicopter.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

“Akira, Akira,” her dad said, raising his hand.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Related Words

• boost
• collect
• enhance
• get
• heighten
• jump
• obtain
• promote
• reinforce
• strengthen