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Added 4 October 2026

raise

/ɹeɪz/ verb

In Latin: tollō, erigō, levō Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about raise at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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
To form by the accumulation of materials or constituent parts; to build up; to erect.
to raise a wall, or a heap of stones
To cause something to come to the surface of water.
The ship was raised ten years after it had sunk.

noun

Ellipsis of pay raise (“an increase in wages or salary”).
The boss gave me a raise.
A shot in which the delivered stone bumps another stone forward.
A bet that increases the previous bet.

noun

A cairn or pile of stones.

Origin

From Middle English reysen, 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 *h₁rey- (“to rise, arise”). According to Kroonen (2013), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to stir, rise”). Cognate with Old English rāsian (“to explore, examine, research”), Old English rīsan (“to seize, carry off”), Old English rǣran (“to raise”). Doublet of rear.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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