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 higher, including bringing something up from under the water.
Like pulling a bucket up from the bottom of a well.
Please raise your hand if you have a question.
She raised the flag to the top of the pole.
Similarlift, hoist, elevate, heave
Oppositelower, drop
Note
2
bring upverbtransitive
To care for children or animals as they grow up, or to grow plants such as crops.
Like a gardener watching over young plants until they are strong.
They raise chickens on a small farm.
She raised three children on her own.
Similarrear, grow, breed, cultivate, nurture
3
increaseverbtransitive
To make something bigger, higher, or greater.
Like turning a dial to make the volume louder.
The company raised the price of milk.
They want to raise the speed limit on this road.
Similarincrease, boost, lift, hike, heighten
Oppositelower, reduce, cut, decrease
4
verbtransitive
To collect money, support, or people, such as gathering money for a cause or soldiers for an army.
Like filling a jar coin by coin until you have enough.
The school hopes to raise money for new computers.
Volunteers raised thousands of dollars for the shelter.
Similarcollect, gather, generate, amass, muster
5
verbtransitive
To mention a question, problem, or objection so people think about it, or to formally start a complaint or request.
Like putting your hand up to say something everyone should hear.
She raised an important question at the meeting.
Feel free to raise any concerns during the session.
Similarvoice, air, broach, mention
6
stir upverbtransitive
To make something happen or appear, such as a feeling or a sound.
Like a match that brings a flame to life.
A good story can raise strong feelings in readers.
The joke raised a big laugh from the crowd.
Similararouse, prompt, provoke, stir, kindle
Oppositedispel, allay, quell, dash
7
more paynounUSCanadaabbreviationellipsis
Short form of pay raise. It means more money in your paycheck.
She got a raise after her yearly review.
Everyone hopes for a raise at the end of the year.
Note
8
from the deadverbfigurativelytransitive
To bring a dead person back to life.
Like pressing play again on something that had stopped forever.
The old tale tells how a wizard could raise the dead.
They believed the prophet had raised a man from his grave.
Similarresurrect, revive, reanimate

Less common meanings

9
bet moreverbintransitive
In a card game, to bet more so others must add money to keep playing.
Like saying 'beat this' and making others pay more to stay in the game.
She decided to raise after seeing her cards.
He raised again, and everyone else folded.
Note
10
bigger betnouncountable
In a card game, a bet that is bigger than the one before it.
Like upping a dare so others must risk more to stay in.
He folded his cards after her big raise.
He met the raise with a confident smile.
Note
11
promoteverbtransitive
To move someone up to a higher rank or job.
Like moving a player up to a more important spot on the team.
The king raised him to the rank of duke.
They voted to raise her to the position of chairperson.
Similarpromote, elevate, advance, upgrade
Oppositedemote, downgrade
12
buildverbtransitive
To build something by putting materials together, like a wall or a house.
Like stacking blocks to build a tall tower.
Workers raised a tall fence around the yard.
Neighbors came to help raise the new barn.
Similarbuild, erect, construct
Oppositedemolish, raze, dismantle
13
shoulder exercisenouncountable
An exercise where you lift your arms up against weight to work your shoulders.
Like lifting your arms out to the side as if they were wings.
She added a lateral raise to her workout.
Three sets of raises left his shoulders sore.
Note
14
bread doughverbtransitive
To make bread or dough puff up and become light, usually using yeast.
Like air slowly filling a balloon until it puffs up.
A little yeast will raise the dough in a few hours.
She raised the bread dough near the warm oven.
Similarleaven
15
contact by radioverbtransitive
To reach and talk to someone by radio or phone.
Like knocking until someone finally answers the door.
The sailors tried to raise the coast guard on the radio.
After an hour of trying, the pilot finally raised the tower on the radio.
Similarcontact, reach
16
program errorverbtransitive
To make a program send out an error or signal that other code can deal with.
Like a smoke alarm going off to warn you that something is wrong.
If the file is missing, the function will raise an error.
The code can raise an event when the button is clicked.
Similarthrow, trigger, fire, emit
Oppositecatch
Note
17
power (math)verbtransitive
To multiply a number by itself a set number of times, as when you square or cube it.
Like a number multiplying itself again and again to grow much bigger.
To find the area of the square, you raise the side length to the second power.
If you raise three to the power of two, you get nine.
Note
18
vowel soundverbtransitive
In speech, to say a vowel with your tongue held higher, closer to the top of your mouth.
Like lifting your tongue toward the roof of your mouth to change how a sound feels.
In this accent, people raise the vowel in 'bath' so it sounds tighter.
Many Canadians raise the vowel in words like 'about' and 'out.'
Oppositelower
Note
19
grammarverbtransitive
In grammar, to move a word like the subject out of an inner part of a sentence into the main part.
Like moving a word from inside a box out to the front of the table.
In this sentence, the verb 'seems' lets us raise the subject to the main clause.
Some verbs raise the subject of a lower clause into the main clause.
Note
20
check fraudverbtransitive
To change the numbers on a check or money order by cheating, so it shows more money than it should.
Like changing a 1 to a 100 on a price tag to cheat the store.
The clerk tried to raise the check from fifty dollars to five hundred.
He was caught after he raised the money order by adding a zero.
Similarinflate, doctor, falsify
21
verbtransitive
To end a siege or blockade, by taking the soldiers or ships away or by driving them off.
Like giving up trying to break into a locked room and walking away.
The general decided to raise the siege after losing too many men.
Bitter winter weather forced the army to raise the siege and march home.
Similarlift, end
Note
22
sight landverbtransitive
To make land or a far-off object look higher by sailing closer to it.
Like a tall building seeming to grow taller as you walk toward it.
After three days at sea, the sailors finally raised land.
The crew hoped to raise the coast before nightfall.
Similarsight
Note
23
noun
In mining, a passage dug upward from below, used for air, taking out ore, or exploring.
24
noun
In curling, a shot where your thrown stone hits another stone and pushes it forward.
25
verb
To shape flat metal into raised patterns or hollow forms by hammering, stamping, or spinning it.
26
noundialectal
A heap of stones piled up, often as a marker on a hill or mountain.
27
verb
In law, to set up a right to use or benefit from property.

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 Old Norse reisa, meaning "to raise." It is the causative form of an old root meaning "to rise."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Raise derives from Old Norse reisa, meaning "to raise." en.wiktionary.org
Its ancestor is a causative formation from an older verb meaning "to rise." en.wiktionary.org