Definition of: raise

(rāz) v. raised, rais·ing v.t.
1. To cause to move upward or to a higher level; lift; elevate.
2. To place erect; set up.
3. To construct or build; erect.
4. To make greater in amount, size, or value: to raise the price of corn.
5. To advance or elevate in rank, estimation, etc.
6. To increase the strength, intensity, or degree of.
7. To breed; grow: to raise chickens or tomatoes.
8. U.S. To rear (children, a family, etc.).
9. To give utterance to; cause to be heard: to raise a hue and cry.
10. To cause; occasion, as a smile or laugh.
11. To stir to action or emotion; arouse.
12. To waken; animate or reanimate: to raise the dead.
13. To gather together; obtain or collect, as an army, capital, etc.
14. To bring up for consideration, as a question.
15. To cause to swell or become lighter; leaven.
16. To put an end to, as a siege.
17. In poker, to bet more than.
18. Naut. To cause to appear above the horizon, as land or a ship, by approaching nearer.
19. Scot. To madden; enrage.
—v.i.
20. Colloq. To cough up phlegm.
21. Dial. To rise or arise.
22. In poker, to make a raise.
—to raise Cain (or the devil, the dickens, a rumpus, etc.) Colloq. To make a great disturbance; stir up confusion.
—to raise steam To get or produce steam, as in a boiler, for the purpose of starting up a steam engine.
—noun
1. The act of raising, in any sense; specifically, an increase, as of wages or a bet.
2. Brit. Dial. Something raised; an ascent; mound. ♦ Homophone: raze. [<ON reisa lift, set up. Akin to OE rǣran rear.] ♦ In British usage, rise is used for an increase in wages.
—rais′er noun Synonyms (verb): aggrandize, elevate, erect, exalt, lift, rear, uplift. See HEIGHTEN, INCREASE, PROMOTE. Antonyms: degrade, depress, humble, lower, reduce, sink.