Rake (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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.
  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: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.
Idioms
  1. coal (def. 8).
noun
  1. a dissolute or immoral person, especially a man who indulges in vices or lacks sexual restraint.
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. the angle measured between the tip edge of an aircraft or missile wing or other lifting surface and the plane of symmetry.
  4. the angle between the cutting face of a tool and a plane perpendicular to the surface of the work at the cutting point.
verb (used without object), raked, rak·ing.
  1. Hunting.
    • (of a hawk) to fly after game.
    • (of a dog) to hunt with the nose close to the ground instead of in the wind.
  2. to go or proceed, especially with speed.
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. to clear (ashes, clinker, etc) from (a fire or furnace)
  4. to gather (items or people) with difficulty, as from a scattered area or limited supply
  5. to search or examine carefully
  6. to scrape or graze
  7. to direct (gunfire) along the length of (a target)
  8. to sweep (one's eyes) along the length of (something); scan
noun
  1. a dissolute man, esp one in fashionable society; roué
verb (mainly intr)
  1. to incline from the vertical by a perceptible degree, esp (of a ship's mast or funnel) towards the stern
  2. 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. the slope of a stage from the back towards the footlights
  3. aeronautics
    • the angle between the wings of an aircraft and the line of symmetry of the aircraft
    • 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
verb (intr)
  1. (of gun dogs or hounds) to hunt with the nose to the ground
  2. (of hawks)
    • to pursue quarry in full flight
    • to fly wide of the quarry, esp beyond the control of the falconer
Rake (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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