raise

American  

[rayz] / 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

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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)

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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

On the one hand, she was viewed as the Trad Wife With Orchestra; “Stand By Your Man” could raise feminist hackles all the way back to Seneca Falls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Officials are hopeful this week’s heavy rains have helped ease wildfire concerns, but such storms also raise the risk of debris flows or mudslides in burn scars, as well as flooding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

This, he told the board, "would raise questions for management of the company going forward".

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Berkshire participated in Alphabet’s $85 billion equity fund deal in June that could be a model for any Meta equity raise.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

We’ve added to the post that all profits are going to raise money for the restoration of the picnic area at Rockledge.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

It still holds the land, the water rights and the future of the Nüümü community, and it raises the question: Why aren’t Angelinos asking where they get their water?

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

Malawi raises fuel prices by more than 40%

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

“France’s meaningful primary deficit raises stark debt sustainability concerns for investors,” he wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

It maintains a buy rating and raises its target price to 48.00 Hong Kong dollars from HK$44.00, mainly on yuan appreciation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Ms. Parker raises her arms, and like magic, everyone quiets.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

However, eurozone businesses raised the prices they charge at a slower pace, suggesting that profit margins may be narrowing as demand remains cool.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The Moneyist tries to find clarity in a murky situation that has raised some red flags.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Both of McKinney’s parents died before he was 5, and he was raised by his oldest sister in a cramped household with half a dozen other children in Passaic, N.J.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

No chief executive, no chairman, no major shareholder and no major shareholder's son are anywhere to be seen when those issues are raised at news conferences.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

I raised my hand to knock at Anna’s door, but before I touched the wood, the door opened, and we rushed inside.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Some expenses may disappear in retirement, such as a mortgage payment once you pay off your house, or college tuition and other costs associated with raising children.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

OpenAI told The Wall Street Journal that it fired the three researchers after an internal investigation found they violated “clear policies for handling sensitive information,” and “not for raising safety concerns or speaking out.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Instead, he’s in Sweden, raising two boys, working as a quality control inspector for a textile company and playing amateur soccer for a team in the country’s fifth division.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Nigeria successfully held back that outbreak within its borders, resulting in only 19 infections and seven deaths -- raising confidence the densely packed nation of 240 million can respond effectively to new public health threats.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

A sharp breeze curled around them, raising the petals completely off his skin and taking the shape of a cyclone.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

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