raise

RAYZ/ɹeɪz/

Verbraises, raising, raised

Noun pluralraises

Often confused with rise

27 meanings of raise

Practice

1
verbtransitive
To lift something or move it to a higher position, including bringing it up from under water to the surface.
Workers used a crane to raise the steel beam into place.
He raised the window to let in some fresh air.
Similarlift, hoist, elevate, heave
Oppositelower, drop
Note
The sense the whole verb grows from, and its history explains the confusion learners most often meet. It came into English from Old Norse reisa, the causative of the Germanic verb behind rise. Rising is what a thing does; raising is what you do to it. So you raise a hand, a flag or a railway bridge, always with an object, while a thing simply rises on its own.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
English raise was borrowed from Old Norse reisa. en.wiktionary.org
Reisa derives from the causative form of the Germanic verb ancestral to rise. en.wiktionary.org
Rise descends from Proto-Germanic *rīsaną. en.wiktionary.org
2
bring upverbtransitive
To bring up a child, or to grow plants or animals, until maturity.
My grandparents raised tobacco and corn on their land.
It takes patience to raise a puppy into a well-behaved dog.
Similarrear, grow, breed, cultivate, nurture
3
increaseverbtransitive
To create, increase, or develop something; to make it greater in amount or degree.
The central bank raised interest rates to slow inflation.
Coaches work hard to raise the team's overall fitness.
Similarincrease, boost, lift, hike, heighten
Oppositelower, reduce, cut, decrease
4
verbtransitive
To collect or gather together money, support, or other resources, or to assemble troops for military service.
The charity is trying to raise funds for disaster relief.
Our school band raised over two thousand dollars by washing cars on weekends.
Similarcollect, gather, generate, amass, muster
5
verbtransitive
To bring up a question, issue, or objection for others to consider, or to formally start a complaint, request, or dispute.
Several residents raised concerns about the new highway plan.
He wanted to raise the issue of pay before the vote.
Similarvoice, air, broach, mention
6
stir upverbtransitive
To bring something into being; to produce or cause it to arise.
Her speech raised hopes that the war might finally end.
Even small mistakes can raise doubts about the whole report.
Similararouse, prompt, provoke, stir, kindle
Oppositedispel, allay, quell, dash
7
more paynounUSCanadaabbreviationellipsis
Short for pay raise: an increase in the money you are paid for your work.
After five years, he finally asked his boss for a raise.
The company gave every employee a small raise this quarter.
Note
American English shortens pay raise to raise, as in the boss gave me a raise. British English says pay rise for the same thing. The word is countable, so it takes an article and a plural: a raise, two raises in three years. The verbs it keeps company with are give, get and ask for.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The American salary noun raise is an ellipsis of pay raise. en.wiktionary.org
8
from the deadverbfigurativelytransitive
To bring a dead person back to life; to resurrect someone.
According to the gospel, he raised Lazarus four days after his death.
Only a god could raise the dead, the villagers whispered.
Similarresurrect, revive, reanimate

Less common meanings

9
bet moreverbintransitive
To increase the size of the current bet, so other players must match the higher amount to stay in the hand.
With a strong hand, she chose to raise before the river.
He raised twice and scared off the other players.
Note
Poker's verb, usually used with no object: John bet, and Julie raised. It increases an existing bet, so opening the betting is not raising. It differs from calling, which only matches the bet. After a raise the others must meet the new total, fold, or re-raise, unless they are all-in for less. The noun names the bet itself.
10
bigger betnouncountable
A bet that increases the amount of the previous bet.
A big raise on the turn forced two players to fold.
His small raise barely changed the size of the pot.
Note
The noun names the bet itself, which is measured against the bet before it. Players speak of a big raise or a small raise on the turn, and a raise made in answer to another raise is a re-raise. How the move is made in play belongs with the poker verb.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The noun denotes a bet that increases the previous bet. en.wiktionary.org
A raise responding to another raise is a re-raise. en.wiktionary.org
11
promoteverbtransitive
To promote someone to a higher rank, office, or status.
The board chose to raise him to chief executive after years of loyal service.
His commander raised him two ranks for bravery in battle.
Similarpromote, elevate, advance, upgrade
Oppositedemote, downgrade
12
buildverbtransitive
To build or construct something by putting materials together; to erect a structure.
Volunteers raised the church steeple stone by stone.
The crew worked all summer to raise the bridge's main towers.
Similarbuild, erect, construct
Oppositedemolish, raze, dismantle
13
shoulder exercisenouncountable
An exercise that works the shoulders by requiring the arms to push or pull upward against resistance.
The trainer demonstrated a front raise with light dumbbells.
A lateral raise isolates the shoulder muscles well.
Note
A gym word that is usually named by the direction the arms travel: front raise, lateral raise, bent-over raise. Each one lifts the arms against a weight or other resistance, and the deltoids of the shoulder do the work. The qualifier tells you which version is meant.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
These exercises lift the arms against weights or other resistance. ntcc.edu
Front raises work the shoulder's deltoids. puregym.com
Lateral raises work the shoulder's deltoids. ntcc.edu
Bent-over raises work the shoulder's deltoids. en.wikipedia.org
14
bread doughverbtransitive
To make bread or other dough light by causing it to rise, as with yeast or leaven.
Good bakers raise the dough by letting yeast work overnight.
Sourdough starter raised the loaf without any commercial yeast.
Similarleaven
15
contact by radioverbtransitive
To establish contact with someone, especially by telephone or radio.
The control tower struggled to raise the pilot during the storm.
After hours of static, they raised the rescue team by radio.
Similarcontact, reach
16
program errorverbtransitive
To create and transmit an exception or event within a program, so that it can be caught and handled elsewhere.
The method will raise an exception if the input is invalid.
When the connection drops, the library raises an event that the app listens for.
Similarthrow, trigger, fire, emit
Oppositecatch
Note
Programmers raise an exception or an event. The program creates or reuses it and sends it on, up the call stack or out to registered listeners, where a handler may catch it or act on it. For exceptions, throw names the same act. A division by zero is the textbook trigger, and a host application can also invoke a method to raise an event.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
Raising can use an existing exception instance; re-raising does not require creating a new exception. docs.python.org
A matching handler may catch the exception, but an exception can remain unhandled and stop execution. docs.python.org
Raising an event can notify registered listeners. learn.microsoft.com
Throwing an exception is also called raising it. learn.microsoft.com
Division by zero is a standard example of an exception trigger. docs.python.org
A host application can invoke a method to raise an event. learn.microsoft.com
17
power (math)verbtransitive
To multiply a number by itself a given number of times, as in raising it to a power.
To square a value, you raise it to the second power.
The formula tells you to raise the base to the given exponent.
Note
Arithmetic uses the verb in one fixed construction: a base is raised to a power, and the preposition to carries the exponent. Two raised to the fifth power equals 32, and squaring a value means raising it to the second power. The passive participle is the common form in spoken and written mathematics.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Two raised to the fifth power equals 32. openstax.org
Squaring a value means raising it to the second power. en.wikipedia.org
18
vowel soundverbtransitive
In phonetics, to articulate a vowel with the tongue positioned closer to the roof of the mouth.
Speakers of this dialect raise the vowel in words like 'trap' before nasal sounds.
She tends to raise the front vowel, shifting it toward a higher position.
Oppositelower
Note
Vowel height is the measure here. A raised vowel is made with the tongue nearer the palate, so it shifts toward a higher position. The term covers a historical sound change as well as a variant heard only in one dialect or context, as when speakers raise the vowel of trap before nasals.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Vowel height concerns the height of the tongue during vowel articulation. pressbooks.nvcc.edu
Raising a vowel involves a higher tongue position, closer to the roof of the mouth. en.wikipedia.org
Vowel raising can constitute a sound change over time. arxiv.org
Vowel raising can be conditioned by dialect and phonetic context, including raising the TRAP vowel before nasal consonants. en.wikipedia.org
19
grammarverbtransitive
In syntax, to move a subject or other argument out of an embedded clause into a higher position in the sentence.
The verb 'seem' allows speakers to raise the embedded subject into the matrix clause.
In 'Mary is likely to win,' the grammar raises 'Mary' from the lower clause.
Note
A term from generative syntax. An argument that belongs to a lower clause appears as the subject of a higher one. In John seems to be tired, John is understood as the subject of be tired, yet it stands before seems. Verbs and adjectives such as seem and likely make the move possible, and the operation itself is called raising.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Raising is a term used in generative syntax. mmll.cam.ac.uk
In subject raising, an embedded-clause subject moves into the higher clause's subject position; this operation is called raising. sfu.ca
In the example, John precedes seems but is understood as the subject of be tired. ufal.mff.cuni.cz
Seem and the adjective likely allow raising. sfu.ca
20
check fraudverbtransitive
To fraudulently increase the stated value of a check, money order, or similar instrument by altering the written or printed amount.
The forger raised the check by carefully altering the written amount.
She was charged with attempting to raise a money order from twenty to two hundred dollars.
Similarinflate, doctor, falsify
21
verbtransitive
To end a siege or blockade, either by withdrawing the forces maintaining it or by forcing them to withdraw or scatter.
Faced with disease in the camp, the commander chose to raise the siege.
A relief army arrived and forced the besiegers to raise the siege of the castle.
Similarlift, end
Note
This use works in two directions, for a blockade as much as for a siege. A commander raises a siege by giving it up, and a relief army raises it by forcing the besiegers away. The usual object is siege itself, with the place set free following after of, as in raise the siege of the castle.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
A blockade can be raised either by withdrawing the enforcing forces or by driving them away. en.wiktionary.org
Raising a siege can mean abandoning it or making the besiegers abandon it. en.wiktionary.org
22
sight landverbtransitive
To make land or another object appear higher by approaching nearer to it, as a ship does at sea.
By dawn the ship had begun to raise the headland on the horizon.
Sailing south for days, they slowly raised the mountains of the far shore.
Similarsight
Note
A sailor's verb for what the eye sees when a ship closes on a coast. The land, a light or another vessel seems to climb above the horizon, so the crew raise Sandy Hook light. The object is always the thing sighted, never the ship. Unlike the lifting sense, nothing is actually lifted as the observer approaches.
23
noun
In mining, a shaft or winze excavated upward from below, used for ventilation, local ore extraction, or exploration.
24
noun
In curling, a shot in which the delivered stone strikes another stone and bumps it forward.
25
verb
To shape sheet metal into embossed designs or hollow, cup-shaped articles by hammering, stamping, or spinning it.
26
noundialectal
A cairn, or a pile of stones, often built as a marker or memorial.
27
verb
In property law, to bring a use or beneficial interest into existence, in land or other property, for example by deed.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of raise apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English reysen, from Old Norse reisa ("to raise"), a causative form of Proto-Germanic *rīsaną ("to rise"), going back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- ("to rise, arise"). It is a doublet of rear.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Raise descends from Middle English reysen, borrowed from Old Norse reisa. en.wiktionary.org
Old Norse reisa meant 'to raise' and descends from a Proto-Germanic causative of *rīsaną. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry extends to Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey-, meaning 'to rise'. en.wiktionary.org
Raise and the verb rear are etymological doublets. en.wiktionary.org