rake

//reɪk//
B1Frequency Level 11Neutral
Visual representation of rake

Noun

rakeSingular
rakesPlural
1

A garden tool with a long handle and a row of metal or wooden teeth, used for gathering leaves, smoothing soil, or loosening ground.

I used a rake to gather the fallen leaves in the garden.

2

A similar tool used for other purposes, such as a croupier's tool for gathering chips at a gambling table.

The croupier used a rake to gather the chips from the table.

Verb

rakeInfinitive
rakePresent tense
rakedPast tense
rakedPast participle
rakingPresent participle
rakesThird-person singular
1

To gather, collect, or move something using a rake or similar sweeping motion.

She raked the fallen leaves into a pile.

2

To search through something thoroughly or systematically.

She raked through the drawers looking for her keys.

3

To sweep gunfire or a beam of light across an area.

The searchlight raked the dark waters of the harbor.

Noun

rakeSingular
rakesPlural
1

A fashionable or wealthy man of immoral or dissolute habits; a libertine.

The novel's protagonist was a notorious rake who squandered his fortune on gambling and women.