Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Raise

Raise

(rāz)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Raised
(rāzd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Raising
.]
[OE.
reisen
, Icel.
reisa
, causative of
rīsa
to rise. See
Rise
, and cf.
Rear
to raise.]
1.
To cause to rise; to bring from a lower to a higher place; to lift upward; to elevate; to heave;
as, to
raise
a stone or weight
.
Hence, figuratively: –
(a)
To bring to a higher condition or situation; to elevate in rank, dignity, and the like; to increase the value or estimation of; to promote; to exalt; to advance; to enhance;
as, to
raise
from a low estate; to
raise
to office; to
raise
the price, and the like
.
This gentleman came to be
raised
to great titles.
Clarendon.
The plate pieces of eight were
raised
three pence in the piece.
Sir W. Temple.
(b)
To increase the strength, vigor, or vehemence of; to excite; to intensify; to invigorate; to heighten;
as, to
raise
the pulse; to
raise
the voice; to
raise
the spirits or the courage; to
raise
the heat of a furnace
.
(c)
To elevate in degree according to some scale;
as, to
raise
the pitch of the voice; to
raise
the temperature of a room
.
2.
To cause to rise up, or assume an erect position or posture; to set up; to make upright;
as, to
raise
a mast or flagstaff
.
Hence: –
(a)
To cause to spring up from a recumbent position, from a state of quiet, or the like; to awaken; to arouse.
They shall not awake, nor be
raised
out of their sleep.
Job xiv. 12.
(b)
To rouse to action; to stir up; to incite to tumult, struggle, or war; to excite.
He commandeth, and
raiseth
the stormy wind.
Ps. cvii. 25.
Aeneas . . . employs his pains,
In parts remote, to
raise
the Tuscan swains.
Dryden.
(c)
To bring up from the lower world; to call up, as a spirit from the world of spirits; to recall from death; to give life to.
Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should
raise
the dead ?
Acts xxvi. 8.
3.
To cause to arise, grow up, or come into being or to appear; to give rise to; to originate, produce, cause, effect, or the like.
Hence, specifically: –
(a)
To form by the accumulation of materials or constituent parts; to build up; to erect;
as, to
raise
a lofty structure, a wall, a heap of stones
.
I will
raise
forts against thee.
Isa. xxix. 3.
(b)
To bring together; to collect; to levy; to get together or obtain for use or service;
as, to
raise
money, troops, and the like
.
“To raise up a rent.”
Chaucer.
(c)
To cause to grow; to procure to be produced, bred, or propagated; to grow;
as, to
raise
corn, barley, hops, etc.; to
raise
cattle
.
“He raised sheep.” “He raised wheat where none grew before.”
Johnson’s Dict.
☞ In some parts of the United States, notably in the Southern States, raise is also commonly applied to the rearing or bringing up of children.
I was
raised
, as they say in Virginia, among the mountains of the North.
Paulding.
(d)
To bring into being; to produce; to cause to arise, come forth, or appear; – often with up.
I will
raise
them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee.
Deut. xviii. 18.
God vouchsafes to
raise
another world
From him [Noah], and all his anger to forget.
Milton.
(e)
To give rise to; to set agoing; to occasion; to start; to originate;
as, to
raise
a smile or a blush
.
Thou shalt not
raise
a false report.
Ex. xxiii. 1.
(f)
To give vent or utterance to; to utter; to strike up.
Soon as the prince appears, they
raise
a cry.
Dryden.
(g)
To bring to notice; to submit for consideration;
as, to
raise
a point of order; to
raise
an objection
.
4.
To cause to rise, as by the effect of leaven; to make light and spongy, as bread.
Miss Liddy can dance a jig, and
raise
paste.
Spectator.
5.
(Naut.)
(a)
To cause (the land or any other object) to seem higher by drawing nearer to it;
as, to
raise
Sandy Hook light
.
(b)
To let go;
as in the command,
Raise
tacks and sheets, i. e., Let go tacks and sheets
.
6.
(Law)
To create or constitute;
as, to
raise
a use, that is, to create it
.
Burrill.
To raise a blockade
(Mil.)
,
to remove or break up a blockade, either by withdrawing the ships or forces employed in enforcing it, or by driving them away or dispersing them.
–
To raise a check
,
note
,
bill of exchange
,
etc., to increase fraudulently its nominal value by changing the writing, figures, or printing in which the sum payable is specified.
–
To raise a siege
,
to relinquish an attempt to take a place by besieging it, or to cause the attempt to be relinquished.
–
To raise steam
,
to produce steam of a required pressure.
–
To raise the wind
,
to procure ready money by some temporary expedient.
[Colloq.]
–
To raise Cain
, or
To raise the devil
,
to cause a great disturbance; to make great trouble.
[Slang]
Syn. – To lift; exalt; elevate; erect; originate; cause; produce; grow; heighten; aggravate; excite.

Webster 1828 Edition

Raise

RAISE

,
Verb.
T.
raze. [This word occurs often in the Gothic version of the gospels, Luke 3:8. John 6:40, 44. These verbs appear to be the L. gradior, gressus, without the prefix. L. to go to walk, to pass.]
1.
To lift; to take up; to heave; to lift from a low or reclining posture; as, to raise a stone or weight; to raise the body in bed.
The angel smote Peter on the side and raised him up.
Acts 12.
2.
To set upright; as, to raise a mast.
3.
To set up; to erect; to set on its foundations and put together; as, to raise the frame of a house.
4.
To build; as, to raise a city, a fort, a wall, &c.
I will raise forts against thee. Is. 29. amos 9.
5.
To rebuild.
They shall raise up the former desolations. Is. 61.
6.
To form to some height by accumulation; as, to raise a heap of stones. Josh. 8.
7.
To make; to produce; to amass; as, to raise a great estate out of small profits.
8.
To enlarge; to amplify.
9.
To exalt; to elevate in condition; as, to raise one from a low estate.
10.
To exalt; to advance; to promote in rank or honor; as, to raise one to an office of distinction.
This gentleman came to be raised to great titles.
11.
To enhance; to increase; as, to raise the value of coin; to raise the price of goods.
12.
To increase in current value.
the plate pieces of eight were raised three pence in the piece.
13.
To excite; to put in motion or action; as, to raise a tempest or tumult.
He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind. Ps. 107.
14.
To excite to sedition, insurrection, war or tumult; to stir up. Act. 14.
AEneas then employs his pains in parts remote to raise the Tuscan swains.
15.
To rouse; to awake; to stir up.
They shall not awake, not be raised out of their sleep. Job. 14.
16.
To increase in strength; to excite from languor or weakness. The pulse is raised by stimulants, sometimes by venesection.
17.
To give beginning of importance to; to elevate into reputation; as, to raise a family.
18.
To bring into being.
God vouchsafes to raise another word for him.
19.
To bring from a state of death to life.
He was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification. Rom. 4. 1Cor. 15.
20.
To call into view from the state of separate spirits; as, to raise a spirit by spells and incantations.
21.
To invent and propagate; to originate; to occasion; as, to raise a report or story.
22.
To set up; to excite; to begin by loud utterance; as, to raise a shout or cry.
23.
To utter loudly; to begin to sound or clamor. He raised his voice against the measures of administration.
24.
To utter with more strength or elevation; to swell. Let the speaker raise his voice.
25.
To collect; to obtain; to bring into a sum or fund. Government raises money by taxes, excise and imposts. Private persons and companies raise money for their enterprises.
26.
To levy; to collect; to bring into service; as, to raise troops; to raise an army.
27.
To give rise to.
28.
To cause to grow; to procure to be produced, bred or propagated; as, to raise wheat, barley, hops, &c.; to raise horses, oxen or sheep.
[The English now use grow in regard to crops; as, to grow wheat. This verb intransitive has never been used in New England in a transitive sense, until recently some persons have adopted it from the English books. We always use raise, but in New England it is never applied to the breeding of the human race, as it is in the southern states.]
29.
To cause to swell, heave and become light; as, to raise dough or paste by yeast or leaven.
Miss Liddy can dance a jig and raise paste.
30.
To excite; to animate with fresh vigor; as, to raise the spirits or courage.
31.
To ordain; to appoint; or to call to and prepare; to furnish with gifts and qualification suited to a purpose; a Scriptural sense.
I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren. Deut. 18.
For this cause have I raised thee up, to show in thee my power. Ex. 9. Judg. 2.
32.
To keep in remembrance. Ruth 4.
33.
To cause to exist by propagation. Matt. 22.
34.
To incite; to prompt. Ezra 1.
35.
To increase in intensity or strength; as, to raise the heat of a furnace.
36.
In seamen's language, to elevate, as an object by a gradual approach to it; to bring to be seen at a greater angle; opposed to laying; as, to raise the land; to raise a point.
To raise a purchase, in seamen's language, is to dispose instruments or machines in such a manner as to exert any mechanical force required.
To raise a siege, is to remove a besieging army and relinquish an attempt to take the place by that mode of attack, or to cause the attempt to be relinquished.

Definition 2024

raise

raise

English

Verb

raise ‎(third-person singular simple present raises, present participle raising, simple past and past participle raised)

  1. (physical) To cause to rise; to lift or elevate.
    to raise your hand if you want to say something; to raise your walking stick to defend yourself‎
    1. To form by the accumulation of materials or constituent parts; to build up; to erect.
      to raise a wall, or a heap of stones‎
      • Bible, Isaiah xxxix. 3
        I will raise forts against thee.
    2. To cause something to come to the surface of the sea.
      The ship was raised ten years after it had sunk.‎
    3. (nautical) To cause (the land or any other object) to seem higher by drawing nearer to it.
      to raise Sandy Hook light‎
    4. (figuratively) To cause (a dead person) to live again, to cause to be undead.
      The magic spell raised the dead from their graves!‎
    5. (military) To remove or break up (a blockade), either by withdrawing the ships or forces employed in enforcing it, or by driving them away or dispersing them.
  2. (transitive) To create, increase or develop.
    We need to raise the motivation level in the company.‎
    to raise the quality of the products; to raise the price of goods‎
    1. To collect.
      to raise a lot of money for charity; to raise troops‎
    2. To bring up; to grow; to promote.
      We visited a farm where they raise chickens.‎
      Chew with your mouth shut — were you raised in a barn?‎
      to raise somebody to office‎
    3. To mention (a question, issue) for discussion.
      A few important questions were raised after the attack.‎
    4. (law) To create; to constitute (a use, or a beneficial interest in property).
      There should be some consideration (i.e. payment or exchange) to raise a use.‎
    5. To bring into being; to produce; to cause to arise, come forth, or appear.
      • Bible, Deuteronomy xviii. 18.
        I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee.
      • John Milton (1608-1674)
        God vouchsafes to raise another world From him [Noah], and all his anger to forget.
      • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
        The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?
  3. (poker, intransitive) To respond to a bet by increasing the amount required to continue in the hand.
    John bet, and Julie raised, requiring John to put in more money.‎
  4. (arithmetic) To exponentiate, to involute.
    Two raised to the fifth power equals 32.‎
  5. (linguistics, transitive, of a verb) To extract (a subject or other verb argument) out of an inner clause.
  6. (linguistics, transitive, of a vowel) To produce a vowel with the tongue positioned closer to the roof of the mouth.
  7. To increase the nominal value of (a cheque, money order, etc.) by fraudulently changing the writing or printing in which the sum payable is specified.
  8. (computing) To throw (an exception).
    A division by zero will raise an exception.‎
Usage notes
  • It is standard US English to raise children, and this usage has become common in all kinds of English since the 1700s. Until fairly recently, however, US teachers taught the traditional rule that one should raise crops and animals, but rear children, despite the fact that this contradicted general usage. It is therefore not surprising that some people still prefer to rear children and that this is considered correct but formal in US English. It is widespread in UK English and not considered formal.
  • It is generally considered incorrect to rear crops or (adult) animals in US English, but this expression is common in UK English.
Synonyms
  • (to cause to rise): lift
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

raise ‎(plural raises)

  1. (US) An increase in wages or salary; a rise (UK).
    The boss gave me a raise.
  2. (weightlifting) A shoulder exercise in which the arms are elevated against resistance.
  3. (curling) A shot in which the delivered stone bumps another stone forward.
  4. (poker) A bet which increased the previous bet.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hreysi; the spelling came about under the influence of the folk etymology that derived it from the verb.

Noun

raise ‎(plural raises)

  1. A cairn or pile of stones.
Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English raisen, reisen, from Old Norse reisa ‎(“to raise”), from Proto-Germanic *raisijaną, *raizijaną ‎(“to raise”), causative form of Proto-Germanic *rīsaną ‎(“to rise”), from Proto-Indo-European *rei- ‎(“to rise, arise”). Cognate with Old English rāsian ‎(“to explore, examine, research”), Old English rīsan ‎(“to seize, carry off”), Old English rǣran ‎(“to cause to rise, raise, rear, build, create”). More at rear.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: rāz, IPA(key): /ɹeɪz/
  • Homophones: rase, rays, raze
  • Rhymes: -eɪz

Similar Results