View synonyms for raise

raise

[ reyz ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

, raised, rais·ing.

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
to set upright:
When the projection screen toppled, he quickly raised it again.
Synonyms: lift
to cause to rise or stand up; rouse:
The sound of the bugle raised him from his bed.
Synonyms: awaken, arouse
to build; erect:
to raise a monument.
Synonyms: rear, construct
to set up the framework of:
to raise a house.
to set in motion; activate:
to raise a storm of protest.
to grow or breed, care for, or promote the growth of:
to raise corn; to raise prizewinning terriers.
Synonyms: cultivate
to serve in the capacity of parent to; rear:
to raise children.
to give rise to; bring up or about:
His comments raised a ripple of applause.
Synonyms: effect, produce, originate
to put forward; present for public consideration:
He raised the issue of his opponent's eligibility.
Law. to make (an issue at law).
to restore to life:
to raise the dead.
to stir up:
to raise a rebellion with stirring speeches.
Synonyms: excite
to give vigor to; animate:
The news raised his spirits.
Synonyms: inspirit, invigorate
to advance in rank or position:
to raise someone to the peerage.
Synonyms: exalt, promote, elevate
to assemble or collect:
to raise an army; to raise money for a charity.
to increase the height or vertical measurement of:
The blocks raise the table three inches.
Synonyms: enlarge, heighten
to increase in degree, intensity, pitch, or force:
to raise the volume of a radio.
Synonyms: augment, amplify
to utter (a cry, shout, etc.) in a loud voice.
to cause (the voice) to be heard:
to raise one's voice in opposition.
to cause (dough or bread) to rise by expansion and become light, as by the use of yeast.
to increase in amount:
to raise rents; to raise salaries.
to increase (the value or price) of a commodity, stock, bond, etc.
Poker.
1. to increase (another player's bet).
2. to bet at a higher level than (a preceding bettor).
Bridge. to increase (the bid for a contract) by repeating one's partner's bid at a higher level.
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.
to increase the amount specified in (a check, money order, or the like) by fraudulent alteration.
Military. to end (a siege) by withdrawing the besieging forces or by compelling the besieging forces to withdraw.
Nautical.
1. to cause (something) to rise above the visible horizon by approaching it.
2. to come in sight of (land, a whale, etc.).
to establish communication with by radio:
The radioman was able to raise shore headquarters after three tries.
Mining. to excavate (an opening) upward from a level below.

verb (used without object)

, raised, rais·ing.

to be able to be lifted or pulled up:
The window raises easily.
(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.
Mining. a shaft excavated upward from below. Compare winze ¹.

raise

/ reɪz /

verb

to move, cause to move, or elevate to a higher position or level; lift
to set or place in an upright position
to construct, build, or erect
to raise a barn
to increase in amount, size, value, etc
to raise prices
to increase in degree, strength, intensity, etc
to raise one's voice
to advance in rank or status; promote
to arouse or awaken from or as if from sleep or death
to stir up or incite; activate
to raise a mutiny
raise Cain
raise Cainraise the devilraise hellraise the roof
1. to create a boisterous disturbance
2. to react or protest heatedly
to give rise to; cause or provoke
to raise a smile
to put forward for consideration
to raise a question
to cause to assemble or gather together; collect
to raise an army
to grow or cause to grow
to raise a crop
to bring up; rear
to raise a family
to cause to be heard or known; utter or express
to raise a shout
to raise a protest
to bring to an end; remove
raise a ban
to raise a siege
to cause (dough, bread, etc) to rise, as by the addition of yeast
poker to bet more than (the previous player)
bridge to bid (one's partner's suit) at a higher level
nautical to cause (something) to seem to rise above the horizon by approaching
we raised land after 20 days
to establish radio communications with
we managed to raise Moscow last night
to obtain (money, funds, capital, etc)
to bring (a surface, a design, etc) into relief; cause to project
to cause (a blister, welt, etc) to form on the skin
phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth
maths to multiply (a number) by itself a specified number of times
8 is 2 raised to the power 3
1. to institute (a suit or action at law)
2. to draw up (a summons)
to increase the amount payable on (a cheque, money order, etc) fraudulently
curling to push (a stone) towards the tee with another stone
raise an eyebrow
raise an eyebrow
1. Alsoraise one's eyebrows to look quizzical or surprised
2. to give rise to doubt or disapproval
raise one's glass to
raise one's glass to to drink the health of; drink a toast to
raise one's hat old-fashioned.
raise one's hat 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

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Confusables Note

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.

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Derived Forms

ˈraisable, adjective
ˈraiser, noun

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Other Words From

raisa·ble raisea·ble adjective
raiser noun
non·raisa·ble adjective
non·raisea·ble adjective
re·raise verb (used with object) reraised reraising
un·raisa·ble adjective
un·raisea·ble adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of raise¹

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” ( rise ), Old English rǣran “to rear up” ( rear ² )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of raise¹

C12: from Old Norse reisa ; related to Old English rǣran to rear ²

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

raise Cain. Cain ¹( def 3 ).

More idioms and phrases containing raise

cause raised eyebrows
curtain raiser
make (raise) a stink
play (raise) havoc

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Synonym Study

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.

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Example Sentences

His wife passed away and they had kids, and he wanted to focus on being a dad so he just stopped to raise his kids.

From The Daily Beast

These brave souls took an icy dip in the ocean to ring in 2015 and raise money for charity.

From The Daily Beast

We happily hoist our egg nog in the air, embrace each other, and raise our out-of-tune voices in song.

From The Daily Beast

So with the doors of late night closed to her, Slate had to scale down her ambitions to raise her profile.

From The Daily Beast

We are gathered for one reason and one reason alone—to raise money to help fulfill that dream and that purpose.

From The Daily Beast

I called out several times, as loud as I could raise my voice, but all to no purpose.

From Project Gutenberg

They determined that an offensive war should be carried on against them, and voted to raise 90 men!

From Project Gutenberg

The minister's eye kept steady to one point; to raise the country he governed, to the utmost pinnacle of earthly grandeur.

From Project Gutenberg

To meet this heavy expense the ministers had to devise all sorts of expedients to raise money.

From Project Gutenberg

Would Hodson, knowing the exceeding importance of his mission, have turned to rescue a servant or raise a fallen horse?

From Project Gutenberg

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Rais raise a hand against

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