raise
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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to set upright.
When the projection screen toppled, he quickly raised it again.
- Synonyms:
- lift
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to cause to rise or stand up; rouse.
The sound of the bugle raised him from his bed.
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to build; erect.
to raise a monument.
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to set up the framework of.
to raise a house.
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to set in motion; activate.
to raise a storm of protest.
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to grow or breed, care for, or promote the growth of.
to raise corn; to raise prizewinning terriers.
- Synonyms:
- cultivate
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to serve in the capacity of parent to; rear.
to raise children.
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to give rise to; bring up or about.
His comments raised a ripple of applause.
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to put forward; present for public consideration.
He raised the issue of his opponent's eligibility.
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Law. to make (an issue at law).
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to restore to life.
to raise the dead.
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to stir up.
to raise a rebellion with stirring speeches.
- Synonyms:
- excite
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to give vigor to; animate.
The news raised his spirits.
- Synonyms:
- inspirit, invigorate
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to advance in rank or position.
to raise someone to the peerage.
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to assemble or collect.
to raise an army; to raise money for a charity.
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to increase the height or vertical measurement of.
The blocks raise the table three inches.
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to increase in degree, intensity, pitch, or force.
to raise the volume of a radio.
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to utter (a cry, shout, etc.) in a loud voice.
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to cause (the voice) to be heard.
to raise one's voice in opposition.
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to cause (dough or bread) to rise by expansion and become light, as by the use of yeast.
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to increase in amount.
to raise rents; to raise salaries.
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to increase (the value or price) of a commodity, stock, bond, etc.
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Poker.
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to increase (another player's bet).
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to bet at a higher level than (a preceding bettor).
-
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Bridge. to increase (the bid for a contract) by repeating one's partner's bid at a higher level.
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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.
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to increase the amount specified in (a check, money order, or the like) by fraudulent alteration.
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Military. to end (a siege) by withdrawing the besieging forces or by compelling the besieging forces to withdraw.
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Nautical.
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to cause (something) to rise above the visible horizon by approaching it.
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to come in sight of (land, a whale, etc.).
-
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to establish communication with by radio.
The radioman was able to raise shore headquarters after three tries.
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Mining. to excavate (an opening) upward from a level below.
verb (used without object)
-
to be able to be lifted or pulled up.
The window raises easily.
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(in cards, poker, etc.) to increase a previous bet or bid.
My cards weren't good enough to let me raise.
noun
-
an increase in amount, as of wages.
a raise in pay.
-
the amount of such an increase.
His raise was five dollars.
-
a raising, lifting, etc..
a raise in spirits.
-
a raised or ascending place; rise.
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Mining. a shaft excavated upward from below.
idioms
verb
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to move, cause to move, or elevate to a higher position or level; lift
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to set or place in an upright position
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to construct, build, or erect
to raise a barn
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to increase in amount, size, value, etc
to raise prices
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to increase in degree, strength, intensity, etc
to raise one's voice
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to advance in rank or status; promote
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to arouse or awaken from or as if from sleep or death
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to stir up or incite; activate
to raise a mutiny
-
-
to create a boisterous disturbance
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to react or protest heatedly
-
-
to give rise to; cause or provoke
to raise a smile
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to put forward for consideration
to raise a question
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to cause to assemble or gather together; collect
to raise an army
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to grow or cause to grow
to raise a crop
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to bring up; rear
to raise a family
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to cause to be heard or known; utter or express
to raise a shout
to raise a protest
-
to bring to an end; remove
to raise a siege
raise a ban
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to cause (dough, bread, etc) to rise, as by the addition of yeast
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poker to bet more than (the previous player)
-
bridge to bid (one's partner's suit) at a higher level
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nautical to cause (something) to seem to rise above the horizon by approaching
we raised land after 20 days
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to establish radio communications with
we managed to raise Moscow last night
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to obtain (money, funds, capital, etc)
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to bring (a surface, a design, etc) into relief; cause to project
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to cause (a blister, welt, etc) to form on the skin
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phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth
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maths to multiply (a number) by itself a specified number of times
8 is 2 raised to the power 3
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to institute (a suit or action at law)
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to draw up (a summons)
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to increase the amount payable on (a cheque, money order, etc) fraudulently
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curling to push (a stone) towards the tee with another stone
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Also: raise one's eyebrows. to look quizzical or surprised
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to give rise to doubt or disapproval
-
-
to drink the health of; drink a toast to
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old-fashioned to take one's hat briefly off one's head as a greeting or mark of respect
noun
-
the act or an instance of raising
-
an increase, esp in salary, wages, etc; rise
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
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raisernoun
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reraiseverb (used with object)
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nonraisableadjective
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nonraiseableadjective
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raisableadjective
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raiseableadjective
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unraisableadjective
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unraiseableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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raisesimple
-
raisessimple
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have raisedperfect
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has raisedperfect
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am raisingprogressive
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are raisingprogressive
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is raisingprogressive
-
have been raisingperfect progressive
-
has been raisingperfect progressive
Past
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raisedsimple
-
had raisedperfect
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was raisingprogressive
-
were raisingprogressive
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had been raisingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing raise
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
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 Best Starting Words for Wordle
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!
Motherlode: A Mother's Day Lexicon
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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:
The two had already discussed having children, but Morgenstern said it came as a surprise to her when Spiess asked what would happen if one of them stopped working to raise them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
But the Makerfield MP said he would stick to the pledges Labour made not to raise VAT, income tax or national insurance in its general election manifesto in 2024.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
James Baldwin, who never once had to raise his voice to leave a room permanently changed.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
As analysts continue to raise their profit forecasts, valuations should ease.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Confused high school kids, maybe, who realized that they weren’t mature enough to raise a child themselves ...
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Although it raises the prospect that Burnham could secure a clean sweep of union support, Unite said its future support for his premiership would be conditional upon action for "workers and communities".
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
It upgrades the stock’s rating to add from hold and raises the target price to 59.50 baht from 51.00 baht.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
“San Marcos Theme” arrives midway as an aural palate cleanser before Price raises the energy another notch in the back half, the sequence that begins with the Charlie Daniels cover and ends with “Maggie’s Farm.”
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
If management raises its expected margin again, that reinforces the idea that Netflix is becoming more like a highly profitable media-services company rather than simply a streamer.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
The Guardians raise their hands again, and Roho raises his.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
The company raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to between $9 and $11 a share, compared with a previous expectation of between $7 and $11.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Elevance Health ELV 0.38%increase; up pointing triangle raised its earnings outlook after logging a higher benefit-expense ratio and sales number in the second quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Mulligan is not Cole's biological son but had been raised by him since he was nine months old.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Cornyn told Semafor on Tuesday that the ruling raised a number of issues, including “the potentially collusive nature of the lawsuit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
The librarian raised a disapproving eyebrow at me as I sloshed past her desk and sat in my corner again, feeling like a water balloon about to burst.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Many of those changes involve the same genes and biological pathways associated with human cancers, raising the possibility that this reptile could help advance cancer research.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
However, sputtering domestic demand has stoked fears of a more entrenched downturn later this year, raising hopes for more policy easing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
First, analysts are raising their forecasts rather than cutting them.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
A retired Long Beach schoolteacher has been missing for four days in a rugged Mojave Desert off-roading area amid triple-digit temperatures, raising concerns about her well-being.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
He and Mama were very independent on the farm, raising just about everything our family needed to eat: beans, greens, peas, potatoes, corn, wheat, apples, grapes.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
