raids

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of raid.

   A series of dawn raids netted dozens of suspects across the city.

   Coastal towns built watchtowers to give warning of seaborne raids.

   Note

   The plural carries every sense of the noun, from battlefield incursions to police searches meant to arrest suspects or seize property. Online it has two newer uses: in multiplayer games, raids are large groups of parties teaming up against a powerful enemy, and a streamer's raid sends viewers on to another broadcast. The spelling is shared with the present-tense verb: in army raids continued, raids is a noun; in the army raids the town, it is a verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of raid.

   The agency raids unlicensed clinics whenever it receives a tip.

   A fox regularly raids the henhouse along the back fence.

   Note

   The verb is transitive in all its senses, so raids normally takes a direct object right after it: the agency raids clinics, a fox raids the henhouse. Beyond attack and search, it can mean luring people away, as when one firm raids a rival's staff, or helping yourself, as when someone raids the fridge. The construction stays the same; the object tells you which meaning is meant.

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