raw
Americanadjective
-
uncooked, as articles of food.
a raw carrot.
-
not having undergone processes of preparing, dressing, finishing, refining, or manufacture.
raw cotton.
- Synonyms:
- makeshift, rough, unprepared
-
unnaturally or painfully exposed, as flesh, by removal of the skin or natural integument.
-
painfully open, as a sore or wound.
-
crude in quality or character; not tempered or refined by art or taste.
raw humor.
-
ignorant, inexperienced, or untrained.
a raw recruit.
- Synonyms:
- unpracticed, unskilled, green, undisciplined
-
brutally or grossly frank.
a raw portrayal of human passions.
-
brutally harsh or unfair.
a raw deal; receiving raw treatment from his friends.
-
disagreeably damp and chilly, as the weather or air.
a raw, foggy day at the beach.
-
not diluted, as alcoholic spirits.
raw whiskey.
-
unprocessed or unevaluated.
raw data.
noun
-
a sore or irritated place, as on the flesh.
-
unrefined sugar, oil, etc.
idioms
adjective
-
(of food) not cooked
raw onion
-
(prenominal) in an unfinished, natural, or unrefined state; not treated by manufacturing or other processes
raw materials for making steel
raw brick
-
(of an edge of material) unhemmed; liable to fray
-
(of the skin, a wound, etc) having the surface exposed or abraded, esp painfully
-
ignorant, inexperienced, or immature
a raw recruit
-
(prenominal) not selected or modified
raw statistics
-
frank or realistic
a raw picture of the breakdown of a marriage
-
(of spirits) undiluted
-
coarse, vulgar, or obscene
-
recently done; fresh
raw paintwork
-
(of the weather) harshly cold and damp
-
informal unfair; unjust (esp in the phrase a raw deal )
noun
-
informal a sensitive point
his criticism touched me on the raw
-
-
informal without clothes; naked
-
in a natural or unmodified state
life in the raw
-
Usage
What does raw mean? Raw describes something that hasn’t been cooked, as in The butcher put a pile of raw meat on the table. Raw can also describe something that hasn’t been processed or refined, as in Raw cotton must be cleaned of plant parts before it can be made into thread or fabric. Raw also refers to skin that was painfully removed, as in The uncomfortable pants rubbed my knees raw. As well, raw can refer to someone who lacks experience or training, as in The rookie detective was too raw to be of any help to the veteran investigator. Raw is rarely used as a noun. It is sometimes used in the idiom in the raw, meaning a natural, unprocessed state or, more informally, referring to something done while naked. Example: The diners became very ill after eating chicken that was more raw that cooked.
Synonym Usage
Raw, crude, rude refer to something not in a finished or highly refined state. Raw applies particularly to material not yet changed by a process, by manufacture, or by preparation for consumption: raw cotton; raw leather. Crude refers to that which still needs refining: crude petroleum. Rude refers to what is still in a condition of rough simplicity or in a makeshift or roughly made form: rude agricultural implements; the rude bridge that arched the flood.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of raw
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English hrēaw, hrǣw; cognate with Dutch rauw, German roh; akin to Latin crūdus “raw” ( see crude), cruor “blood,” Greek kréas “raw flesh” ( see creatine)
Explanation
Something that's raw is uncooked. A ripe raw tomato tastes very different from one that's slowly roasted with olive oil. Raw food isn't heated, and while raw fruits and vegetables are usually delicious, raw eggs and meat can be dangerous. When you use the word raw to describe things that aren't edible, it generally means "in a natural, untreated state," like raw silk or raw wood. You might also have raw feelings or raw emotions — these are basic and out in the open. The Old English root is hreaw, "uncooked," from a Germanic source.
Vocabulary lists containing raw
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Handling wild game can pose food-safety risks: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that raw or undercooked wild game, including bear meat, can carry trichinella parasites, which cause trichinellosis.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
It would also require a reliable system for moving supplies, equipment, and raw materials across the Solar System.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
You can’t help but grin at Sessa’s hoot when his scrawny Tony finally manages to muscle a raw potato through a french-fry slicer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
At the time, Ynyshir, which serves Japanese-inspired raw dishes as part of its nearly £500 per head 30-course tasting menu, accused inspectors of not understanding its specialised procedures.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
It was a chill raw morning in late May: after three months in prison I had been called for my first hearing.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Gilgamesh’s lament is not the stylized keening of epic tradition—not Achilles’ highfalutin howls after Hector strikes down Patroclus—but something rawer, humbler, more recognizably human.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
“You don’t get much rawer than there. That can be attractive - if you want to see real life.”
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2024
It’s rawer than I’d grown accustomed to thinking about your music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
As these rawer images came out, what struck you?
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2023
Beneath your world of skies and faces and buildings exists a rawer and older world, a place where surface planes disintegrate and sounds ribbon in shoals through the air.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
For six tumultuous years, director Nico Ballesteros followed Ye at close range, capturing the artist’s rawest highs and lowest lows in the new documentary “In Whose Name?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
It is golf in its rawest form with a place in the game's most historic tournament at stake.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025
Maybe it’s because I was being accepted for the rawest version of myself: loud, artistic, sometimes judgmental, but always warm and open to new people and experiences.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2025
It’s genuinely therapeutic to just peel back all the layers and say the rawest, realest version of your truth.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 3, 2024
The files on the murders of the Osage contained history in its rawest form: bits of data vacuumed up without any chronology or narrative, like a novel whose pages were out of order.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
