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to rake

to rake

27 1.0
To gather leaves or loose soil using a long-handled tool with teeth
  • verb
  • /reɪk/
: rastrillar
  • And I walked down into that backyard... and I took the rake, and I began to rake.
  • hand raking

Turn off the television, go outside, rake some leaves, get out in the sun, breathe some fresh air.

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Examples

  • So I grew up in Michigan and it was very popular to rake the oak leaves in your front yard into a pile.

  • You really should rake the leaves out here.

  • And we're just going to rake all these up and then we're going to throw them on the garden.

  • Turn off the television, go outside, rake some leaves, get out in the sun, breathe some fresh air.

  • And it's very kind of you to rake the grass the way you do.

  • I was just here raking leaves.

  • The boys didn't finish raking leaves.

  • An older man was in the field about fifty yards away, raking meadow hay into neat windrows.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "The janitor was holding a short-handled rake and raking up dry pine needles into a rubber basket."

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Before winter arrives, it's important to rake the fallen leaves from the yard.

Synonyms

to sweep
vsto rake
107 1.0

To clean a floor or surface by brushing away dirt with a broom

gathers or moves material by pulling it with tines rather than brushing it away
to rake the leaves
vsto rake
3 1.3

To gather fallen leaves from the ground using a long-handled tool

is the shorter single-word general action form
to harrow
vsto rake
  • Specialized
1 7.5

To break up and smooth soil using a farm tool with spikes

focuses more on gathering or clearing material rather than deep soil breaking

Antonyms

81 4.4

To cause people and things, like a crowd or fog, to spread over a wide area

50 2.7

To make people or animals move quickly in different directions

Idioms

6 7.9

Scold someone very strongly for a mistake

1 4.3

To earn a lot of money quickly with little work

1 8.6

To have unexpected problems because of your own mistake

8.4

To bring up old arguments or painful memories again

Phrasal Verbs

to rake in
  • Informal
33 4.6

To earn a large amount of money with little effort

To gather fallen leaves from the ground using a long-handled tool

to rake up
  • Informal
1 6.8

Bring up old unpleasant events or arguments in public unnecessarily

1 9.1

Take money secretly from payments, often in an illegal way

to rake over
  • Informal
1 7.1

Carefully examine and discuss a topic, often when it is difficult or unpleasant

to rake together
  • Informal
1 6.7

Gather money, papers, or people quickly, often with effort

1 7.1

To keep talking about old mistakes or bad events unnecessarily

1 6.8

Remember past events on purpose, often ones you would rather forget

Compounds

1 1.7

A tool with a long handle and a bar with teeth for gathering leaves or smoothing soil

1 2.5

A long stick used to hold a garden tool for moving leaves

rake-off
  • Literature
1 8.9

A small secret share taken from money or profits by dishonest people

1 9.9

A small tool a casino dealer uses to move and collect chips on the table

A garden tool with many close teeth for gathering leaves and small debris

How Thorough

to clear
839 1.5
to clean
∞ 1.0
to rake
27 1.0
to sweep
107 1.0
to brush
209 1.0

Surface Forms

rake infinitive
raked past
raked past participle
raking present participle
rakes third person singular

Etymology

Rake (verb: gather) comes from the same idea of 'scraping' or 'dragging' with a tool, so to rake is simply to pull leaves or grass into a pile, just like using a garden rake.