/ reɪz; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
MOVE UPWARDS
1.
[ vn ] to lift or move sth to a higher level :
She raised the gun and fired.
He raised a hand in greeting.
She raised her eyes from her work.
OPP lower ➡ note at rise
2.
[ vn ] to move sth / sb/yourself to a vertical position :
Somehow we managed to raise her to her feet.
He raised himself up on one elbow.
OPP lower
INCREASE
3.
[ vn ] raise sth (to sth) to increase the amount or level of sth :
to raise salaries / prices / taxes
They raised their offer to $500.
How can we raise standards in schools?
Don't tell her about the job until you know for sure—we don't want to raise her hopes (= make her hope too much) .
I've never heard him even raise his voice (= speak louder because he was angry) .
COLLECT MONEY / PEOPLE
4.
[ vn ] to bring or collect money or people together; to manage to get or form sth :
to raise a loan
We are raising money for charity.
He set about raising an army .
—see also fund-raiser
MENTION SUBJECT
5.
[ vn ] to mention sth for people to discuss or sb to deal with
SYN broach :
The book raises many important questions .
I'm glad you raised the subject of money.
CAUSE
6.
[ vn ] to cause or produce sth; to make sth appear :
to raise doubts in people's minds
The plans for the new development have raised angry protests from local residents.
It wasn't an easy audience but he raised a laugh with his joke.
It had been a difficult day but she managed to raise a smile.
The horses' hooves raised a cloud of dust.
—see also curtain-raiser , fire-raiser
CHILD / ANIMAL
7.
( especially NAmE ) to care for a child or young animal until it is able to take care of itself :
[ vn ]
They were both raised in the South.
kids raised on a diet of hamburgers
[ vn - n ]
They raised her (as) a Catholic.
I was born and raised a city boy.
—compare bring up
FARM ANIMALS / CROPS
8.
[ vn ] to breed particular farm animals; to grow particular crops :
to raise cattle / corn
END STH
9.
[ vn ] to end a restriction on sb/sth :
to raise a blockade / a ban / an embargo / a siege
ON RADIO / PHONE
10.
[ vn ] to contact sb and speak to them by radio or telephone :
We managed to raise him on his mobile phone.
DEAD PERSON
11.
[ vn ] raise sb (from sth) to make sb who has died come to life again
SYN resurrect :
Christians believe that God raised Jesus from the dead.
IN CARD GAMES
12.
[ vnn ] to make a higher bet than another player in a card game :
I'll raise you another hundred dollars.
MATHEMATICS
13.
[ vn ] to multiply an amount by itself a particular number of times :
3 raised to the power of 3 is 27 (= 3 × 3 × 3).
•
IDIOMS
- raise a / your hand against / to sb
- raise your eyebrows (at sth)
- raise your glass (to sb)
- raise hell
- raise the roof
- raise sb's spirits
—more at ante , hackles , sight noun , temperature
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- raise sth to sb/sth
■ noun
( NAmE ) = rise
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old Norse reisa ; related to the verb rear .