raise

Pronunciation

• enPR: rāz, IPA ^(key): /reɪz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophones: rase, rays, raze

Verb

Plain form raise

Third-person singular raises

Past tense raised

Past participle raised

Present participle raising

1. (transitive) If you raise something you make it higher; that is you move it up.

   I need to raise the car off the ground to fix it from below.

   Raise your hand if you know the answer.

2. (transitive) If you raise children or animals, you care for them until they have grown up (become adults).

   I raised the children after their mother died.

   I raised my dog from a puppy.

3. (transitive) If you raise food (plants or animals) you grow it on a farm. This is also used for plants that are not food, like cotton or tobacco.

   My grandfather raised corn and chickens.

4. (transitive) If you raise a number, you make it bigger.
5. (transitive) If you raise an idea you start talking about it.

   Why did you have to raise the issue of abortion?

6. (transitive) If you raise somebody in gambling, you make a bigger bet.
7. (transitive) If someone raises the dead they make dead people alive again.

   Jesus is said to have raised the dead.

Synonyms

• heighten
• increase

Antonyms

• lower
• depress
• decrease

Related words

• rise

Noun

Singular raise

Plural raises

1. A raise is an increase in pay at work.

   I have worked here long enough I should get a raise.

2. In gambling, a raise is an increased bet.