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rake

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A long-handled tool with a row of teeth at its head.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rayk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹeɪk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. agriculturehorticulture

    A long-handled tool with a row of teeth at its head; used to move leaves or loosen soil

  2. agriculturehorticulture

    A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor.

  3. by extension

    A similarly shaped tool used for other purposes.

  4. gambling

    A tool with a straight edge at the end used by a croupier to move chips or money across a gaming table.

  5. A type of lockpick that has a ridged or notched blade that moves across the pins in a pin tumbler lock, causing them to settle into a shear line.

  6. The act of raking.

verb

  1. transitive

    To provide (the bow or stern of a watercraft) with a rake ("a slant that causes it to extend beyond the keel").

  2. transitive

    Often followed by an adverb or preposition such as away, off, out, etc.: to drag or pull in a certain direction.

  3. transitivealso figurative

    Often followed by in: to gather (things which are apart) together, especially quickly.

  4. (transitive, chiefly Ireland, Northern England, Scotland, also figurative) To cover (something) by or as if by raking things over it.

  5. To walk; to roam, to wander.

  6. Move through with or as if with a rake

    “She raked her fingers through her hair.”

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

More ways to use rake

  • “She raked her fingers through her hair.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Long / garden

garden rakehay rakerake face

Other combinations

rake receiverrake anglenegative rakeside rakeyoung rake

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • rake handlenounCompound term

    The handle of a rake.

  • rake inverbCompound term

    Earn large sums of money.

  • rake-offnounCompound term

    A percentage (of winnings or loot or profit) taken by an operator or gangster.

  • rake upverbCompound term

    Bring to light.

  • croupier's rakenounCompound term

    A small rake used by a croupier to move chips around on the table.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.