rake

[ reyk ]

/ reɪk /

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See synonyms for: rake / raking on Thesaurus.com

noun

an agricultural implement with teeth or tines for gathering cut grass, hay, or the like or for smoothing the surface of the ground.

any of various implements having a similar form, as a croupier's implement for gathering in money on a gaming table.

verb (used with object), raked, rak·ing.

to gather, draw, or remove with a rake: to rake dead leaves from a lawn.

to clear, smooth, or prepare with a rake: to rake a garden bed.

to clear (a fire, embers, etc.) by stirring with a poker or the like.

to gather or collect abundantly (usually followed by in): He marketed his invention and has been raking in money ever since.

to bring to light, usually for discreditable reasons (usually followed by up): to rake up an old scandal.

to search thoroughly through: They raked the apartment for the missing jewels.

to scrape; scratch: The sword's tip raked his face lightly.

to scoop out (a masonry joint) to a given depth while the mortar is still green.

to fire guns along the length of (a position, body of troops, ship, etc.):Gunfire from a Japanese cruiser raked the ship’s bridge.

to sweep (a place or thing) with the eyes or a light, typically in search of something: He raked the horizon with his gaze.

to sweep or pass over:The high beams of a passing car raked the darkened house fronts. Winds raked the plains. She lingered at an Italian sports car, her eyes raking the length of it.

verb (used without object), raked, rak·ing.

to use a rake: The gardener raked along the border of the garden.

to search with a sweeping motion: His gaze raked over the room.

to scrape; search: She frantically raked through her belongings.

OTHER WORDS FOR rake

8 comb, scour, ransack.

See synonyms for rake on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about rake

rake over the coals. coal (def. 8).

Origin of rake

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun rak(e), Old English raca (masculine), racu (feminine); cognate with German Rechen, Old Norse reka “shovel”

OTHER WORDS FROM rake

rak·a·ble, rake·a·ble, adjectiverak·er, noun

Words nearby rake

Rajput, Rajputana, Rajya Sabha, rakʿa, Rakata, rake, raked, rakehell, rake in, rake-off, rake over the coals

Other definitions for rake (2 of 4)

rake²

[ reyk ]

/ reɪk /

noun

a dissolute or immoral person, especially a man who indulges in vices or lacks sexual restraint.

OTHER WORDS FOR rake

roué, libertine, profligate, lecher, womanizer.

See synonyms for rake on Thesaurus.com

Origin of rake

First recorded in 1645–55; see origin at rakehell

Other definitions for rake (3 of 4)

rake³

[ reyk ]

/ reɪk /

verb (used without object), raked, rak·ing.

to incline from the vertical, as a mast, or from the horizontal.

verb (used with object), raked, rak·ing.

to cause (something) to incline from the vertical or the horizontal.

noun

inclination or slope away from the perpendicular or the horizontal.

a board or molding placed along the sloping sides of a frame gable to cover the ends of the siding.

Aeronautics. the angle measured between the tip edge of an aircraft or missile wing or other lifting surface and the plane of symmetry.

Machinery. the angle between the cutting face of a tool and a plane perpendicular to the surface of the work at the cutting point.

Origin of rake

First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain

Other definitions for rake (4 of 4)

rake⁴

[ reyk ]

/ reɪk /

verb (used without object), raked, rak·ing.

Hunting.

(of a hawk) to fly after game.
(of a dog) to hunt with the nose close to the ground instead of in the wind.

Chiefly Scot. to go or proceed, especially with speed.

Origin of rake

⁴

First recorded before 1000; Middle English raken “to go, hasten,” Old English racian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rake in a sentence

Meanwhile, many employers of these essential workers, including Walmart, Amazon, Kroger and Costco, have raked in record profits.
The Challenges Posed By COVID-19 Pushed Many Workers to Strike. Will the Labor Movement See Sustained Interest?|Abigail Abrams|January 17, 2021|Time
SPACs have been on fire in the US, raking in more money last year than in the entire decade before.
Why SPACs are booming in New York but not in London|John Detrixhe|January 14, 2021|Quartz
Any movie that doesn’t rake in $50 million or more at theaters in its opening weekend will be able to be released for people to rent on streaming services 17 days later.
‘I don’t know if it’s ever going to die’: Advertisers grapple with the GRP’s grip on the TV and streaming ad market|Tim Peterson|November 25, 2020|Digiday
Meanwhile, 40 major-conference programs are raking in at least $100 million, including the University of Texas, which brought in more than $220 million.
What Does Makur Maker Mean For The Future Of HBCU Sports?|Josh Planos|November 24, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

Then there’s the fact that, at the moment, streaming doesn’t rake in as much revenue as traditional TV.
Digital publishers hunt for home on connected TV|Tim Peterson|November 4, 2020|Digiday
They dress in clothing from the flophouse lost-and-found and are groomed with a hacksaw and gravel rake.
Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham|P. J. O’Rourke|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The next 10 times after that, the sheer repetition made it funny again, like the famous Simpsons rake joke.
Rage Against GamerGate’s Hate Machine: What I Got For Speaking Up|Arthur Chu|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That tour, of course, is the On the Run tour featuring Beyoncé and Jay Z, which is on track to rake in up to $100 million.
The End of Beyonce and Jay Z? The Craziest Claims From the New York Post’s Hit Piece|Marlow Stern|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“This is my collage about a farm,” he said pointing out a rake, plant, and chicken.
How I’ll End the War: Making Collage Art With Afghan Students|Nick Willard|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lacob: Unlike Gang Related, I actually enjoyed Rake less than I thought I would.
Fall-Winter TV Preview: Snap Judgments of 2013–14’s New Shows|Jace Lacob, Kevin Fallon|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Harrowing makes finer the lumps near the surface, and mixes the fertilizer deeper than a rake can be used.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
But as they rode back to Zoyland Chase the old rake was bitter in his inveighings against Wilding's folly and weakness.
Mistress Wilding|Rafael Sabatini
He forbade his subjects, under pain of banishment, to rake up the old causes of dispute.
Belgium|George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
Though outnumbered three to one, still we were well under cover in our boat, and could rake each canoe as it came up.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
The Belgians place no limit upon the number of elephants one may shoot, just so they get their rake-off.
In Africa|John T. McCutcheon

British Dictionary definitions for rake (1 of 4)

rake¹

/ (reɪk) /

noun

a hand implement consisting of a row of teeth set in a headpiece attached to a long shaft and used for gathering hay, straw, leaves, etc, or for smoothing loose earth

any of several mechanical farm implements equipped with rows of teeth or rotating wheels mounted with tines and used to gather hay, straw, etc

any of various implements similar in shape or function, such as a tool for drawing out ashes from a furnace

the act of raking

NZ a line of wagons coupled together as one unit, used on railways

verb

to scrape, gather, or remove (leaves, refuse, etc) with or as if with a rake

to level or prepare (a surface, such as a flower bed) with a rake or similar implement

(tr sometimes foll by out) to clear (ashes, clinker, etc) from (a fire or furnace)

(tr ; foll by up or together) to gather (items or people) with difficulty, as from a scattered area or limited supply

(tr ; often foll by through, over etc) to search or examine carefully

(when intr , foll by against, along etc) to scrape or grazethe ship raked the side of the quay

(tr) to direct (gunfire) along the length of (a target)machine-guns raked the column

(tr) to sweep (one's eyes) along the length of (something); scan

Word Origin for rake

Old English raca; related to Old Norse raka, Old High German rehho a rake, Gothic rikan to heap up, Latin rogus funeral pile

British Dictionary definitions for rake (2 of 4)

rake²

/ (reɪk) /

noun

a dissolute man, esp one in fashionable society; roué

Word Origin for rake

C17: short for rakehell

British Dictionary definitions for rake (3 of 4)

rake³

/ (reɪk) /

verb (mainly intr)

to incline from the vertical by a perceptible degree, esp (of a ship's mast or funnel) towards the stern

(tr) to construct with a backward slope

noun

the degree to which an object, such as a ship's mast, inclines from the perpendicular, esp towards the stern

theatre the slope of a stage from the back towards the footlights

aeronautics

the angle between the wings of an aircraft and the line of symmetry of the aircraft
the angle between the line joining the centroids of the section of a propeller blade and a line perpendicular to the axis

the angle between the working face of a cutting tool and a plane perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece

a slanting ledge running across a crag in the Lake District

Word Origin for rake

C17: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to German ragen to project, Swedish raka

British Dictionary definitions for rake (4 of 4)

rake⁴

/ (reɪk) /

verb (intr)

(of gun dogs or hounds) to hunt with the nose to the ground

(of hawks)

to pursue quarry in full flight
(often foll by away) to fly wide of the quarry, esp beyond the control of the falconer

Word Origin for rake

Old English racian to go forward, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

rake

OTHER WORDS FOR rake

Idioms about rake

Origin of rake

OTHER WORDS FROM rake

Words nearby rake

Other definitions for rake (2 of 4)

OTHER WORDS FOR rake

Origin of rake

Other definitions for rake (3 of 4)

Origin of rake

Other definitions for rake (4 of 4)

Origin of rake

Words related to rake

How to use rake in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rake (1 of 4)

Word Origin for rake

British Dictionary definitions for rake (2 of 4)

Word Origin for rake

British Dictionary definitions for rake (3 of 4)

Word Origin for rake

British Dictionary definitions for rake (4 of 4)

Word Origin for rake