rake

1
[ reyk ]
See synonyms for: rakeraking on Thesaurus.com

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

  2. 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.
  1. to gather, draw, or remove with a rake: to rake dead leaves from a lawn.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  9. 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.
  1. to use a rake: The gardener raked along the border of the garden.

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

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

Idioms about rake

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

Origin of rake

1
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 for rake

Other words from rake

  • rak·a·ble, rake·a·ble, adjective
  • rak·er, noun

Words Nearby rake

Other definitions for rake (2 of 4)

rake2
[ reyk ]

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

Origin of rake

2
First recorded in 1645–55; see origin at rakehell

Other words for rake

Other definitions for rake (3 of 4)

rake3
[ reyk ]

verb (used without object),raked, rak·ing.
  1. to incline from the vertical, as a mast, or from the horizontal.

verb (used with object),raked, rak·ing.
  1. to cause (something) to incline from the vertical or the horizontal.

noun
  1. inclination or slope away from the perpendicular or the horizontal.

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

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

  2. 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

3
First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain

Other definitions for rake (4 of 4)

rake4
[ reyk ]

verb (used without object),raked, rak·ing.
  1. 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.

  2. 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. 2024

How to use rake in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rake (1 of 4)

rake1

/ (reɪk) /


noun
  1. 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

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

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

  2. the act of raking

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

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

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

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

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

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

  4. (when intr , foll by against, along etc) to scrape or graze: the ship raked the side of the quay

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

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

Origin of rake

1
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
  1. a dissolute man, esp one in fashionable society; roué

Origin of rake

2
C17: short for rakehell

British Dictionary definitions for rake (3 of 4)

rake3

/ (reɪk) /


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

  2. (tr) to construct with a backward slope

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

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

  1. 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

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

  3. a slanting ledge running across a crag in the Lake District

Origin of rake

3
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)
  1. (of gun dogs or hounds) to hunt with the nose to the ground

  2. (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

Origin of rake

4
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