rake

¹

[ reyk ]

noun

1. an agricultural implement with teeth or tines for gathering cut grass, hay, or the like or for smoothing the surface of the ground.
2. any of various implements having a similar form, as a croupier's implement for gathering in money on a gaming table.

verb (used with object)

, raked, rak·ing.

1. to gather, draw, or remove with a rake:

   to rake dead leaves from a lawn.

2. to clear, smooth, or prepare with a rake:

   to rake a garden bed.

3. to clear (a fire, embers, etc.) by stirring with a poker or the like.
4. to gather or collect abundantly (usually followed by in ):

   He marketed his invention and has been raking in money ever since.

5. to bring to light, usually for discreditable reasons (usually followed by up ):

   to rake up an old scandal.

6. to search thoroughly through:

   They raked the apartment for the missing jewels.

   Synonyms: ransack, scour, comb

7. to scrape; scratch:

   The sword's tip raked his face lightly.

8. to scoop out (a masonry joint) to a given depth while the mortar is still green.
9. to fire guns along the length of (a position, body of troops, ship, etc.):

   Gunfire from a Japanese cruiser raked the ship’s bridge.

10. to sweep (a place or thing) with the eyes or a light, typically in search of something:

    He raked the horizon with his gaze.

11. to sweep or pass over: Winds raked the plains.

    The high beams of a passing car raked the darkened house fronts.

    Winds raked the plains.

    She lingered at an Italian sports car, her eyes raking the length of it.

verb (used without object)

, raked, rak·ing.

1. to use a rake:

   The gardener raked along the border of the garden.

2. to search with a sweeping motion:

   His gaze raked over the room.

3. to scrape; search:

   She frantically raked through her belongings.

rake

²

[ reyk ]

noun

1. a dissolute or immoral person, especially a man who indulges in vices or lacks sexual restraint.

   Synonyms: womanizer, lecher, profligate, libertine, roué

rake

³

[ reyk ]

verb (used without object)

, raked, rak·ing.

1. to incline from the vertical, as a mast, or from the horizontal.

verb (used with object)

, raked, rak·ing.

1. to cause (something) to incline from the vertical or the horizontal.

noun

1. inclination or slope away from the perpendicular or the horizontal.
2. a board or molding placed along the sloping sides of a frame gable to cover the ends of the siding.
3. Aeronautics. the angle measured between the tip edge of an aircraft or missile wing or other lifting surface and the plane of symmetry.
4. Machinery. the angle between the cutting face of a tool and a plane perpendicular to the surface of the work at the cutting point.

rake

⁴

[ reyk ]

verb (used without object)

, raked, rak·ing.

1. Hunting.
   1. (of a hawk) to fly after game.
   2. (of a dog) to hunt with the nose close to the ground instead of in the wind.
2. Chiefly Scot. to go or proceed, especially with speed.

rake

¹

/ reɪk /

noun

1. a hand implement consisting of a row of teeth set in a headpiece attached to a long shaft and used for gathering hay, straw, leaves, etc, or for smoothing loose earth
2. any of several mechanical farm implements equipped with rows of teeth or rotating wheels mounted with tines and used to gather hay, straw, etc
3. any of various implements similar in shape or function, such as a tool for drawing out ashes from a furnace
4. the act of raking
5. a line of wagons coupled together as one unit, used on railways

verb

1. to scrape, gather, or remove (leaves, refuse, etc) with or as if with a rake
2. to level or prepare (a surface, such as a flower bed) with a rake or similar implement
3. trsometimes foll byout to clear (ashes, clinker, etc) from (a fire or furnace)
4. tr; foll by up or together to gather (items or people) with difficulty, as from a scattered area or limited supply
5. tr; often foll by through, over etc to search or examine carefully
6. whenintr, foll by against, along etc to scrape or graze

   the ship raked the side of the quay

7. tr to direct (gunfire) along the length of (a target)

   machine-guns raked the column

8. tr to sweep (one's eyes) along the length of (something); scan

rake

²

/ reɪk /

verb

1. to incline from the vertical by a perceptible degree, esp (of a ship's mast or funnel) towards the stern
2. tr to construct with a backward slope

noun

1. the degree to which an object, such as a ship's mast, inclines from the perpendicular, esp towards the stern
2. theatre the slope of a stage from the back towards the footlights
3. aeronautics
   1. the angle between the wings of an aircraft and the line of symmetry of the aircraft
   2. the angle between the line joining the centroids of the section of a propeller blade and a line perpendicular to the axis
4. the angle between the working face of a cutting tool and a plane perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece
5. a slanting ledge running across a crag in the Lake District

rake

³

/ reɪk /

verb

1. (of gun dogs or hounds) to hunt with the nose to the ground
2. of hawks
   1. to pursue quarry in full flight
   2. often foll by away to fly wide of the quarry, esp beyond the control of the falconer

rake

⁴

/ reɪk /

noun

1. a dissolute man, esp one in fashionable society; roué

Other Words From

• rak·a·ble rake·a·ble adjective
• rak·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rake¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun rak(e), Old English raca (masculine), racu (feminine); cognate with German Rechen, Old Norse reka “shovel”

Origin of rake²

First recorded in 1645–55; rakehell

Origin of rake³

First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain

Origin of rake⁴

First recorded before 1000; Middle English raken “to go, hasten,” Old English racian

Word History and Origins

Origin of rake¹

Old English raca ; related to Old Norse raka , Old High German rehho a rake, Gothic rikan to heap up, Latin rogus funeral pile

Origin of rake²

C17: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to German ragen to project, Swedish raka

Origin of rake³

Old English racian to go forward, of uncertain origin

Origin of rake⁴

C17: short for rakehell

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. rake over the coals. coal ( def 8 ).

Example Sentences

POP has given important premieres, such as the first professional Los Angeles staging of Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress,” which was written in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

And if he can’t rake, the Yankees can’t recover.

From Los Angeles Times

Even though the Supreme Court has freed billionaires and corporations to spend unlimited dollars buying elections, their money does not go as far as the haul that an authentically popular candidate like Harris can rake in from less affluent donors.

From Slate

Most intriguing are the lines scored down the length of the strip, possibly by a rake or even a bed of nails.

From BBC

"I've never been a groundsman, but you'd think a rake would assist the spin," said Stokes.

From BBC

Related Words

• comb
• scour
• scrape