Rake Meaning

/ɹeɪk/
B1

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounA garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor.

nounA similarly shaped tool used for other purposes., A tool with a straight edge at the end used by a croupier to move chips or money across a gaming table.

Tom wanted to help Mary rake the leaves, but she was using the only rake.
Rake the leaves in the backyard.
Rake the leaves into piles and we'll burn them.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The gardener used the ____ to gather all the fallen leaves into a pile.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used a garden ____ to gather the fallen leaves into a large pile before bagging them.

From Middle English rake [and other forms], from Old English raca, racu, ræce (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Germanic *rakō, *rekô (“tool with a row of pointed teeth, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, right oneself”). Cognates The English word is cognate with Danish rage (chiefly regional), Middle Dutch rāke, rēke (modern Dutch raak, reek (both regional), riek (“pitchfork, rake”)), Middle Low German rāke, racke (modern German Low German Raak (“rake; poker”)), Old High German rehho, rech (Middle High German reche, modern German Rechen (“rake”)), Old Norse reka (“shovel”) (modern Icelandic reka (“shovel”)), Old Saxon recho, Old Swedish raka (modern Swedish raka (“rake; (long) straight section of a road”)).

"Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. […] Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft." — 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The Old Punt: A Curious ‘Turnpike’”, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 19–20:
"I've been dealing primarily with rake and spaceship interactions for ease of experimentation (a rake will invariably escape before being eaten by even its most hellish progeny, and a spaceship is easy to redraw on the spot)." — 1991 January 10, Paul Callahan, “Questions and comments about Conway's Life (long)”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
"That would mean building rake guns or glider gun arrays to construct moving walls." — 2003 August 19, Ilmari Karonen, “Inquiries about Conway's game of life”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
"The switch engine is unstable but a number of them working in combination can form stable puffers, spaceships and rakes." — 2015, Paul Rendell, Turing Machine Universality of the Game of Life, page 133:
"Pas could not stay, but over him did rake, / And crown'd the earth with his first touching crowne: [...]" — c. 1580 (date written), Philip Sidney, “(please specify the folio)”, in [Mary Sidney], editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia […] [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1593, →OCLC:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The gardener used the ____ to gather all the fallen leaves into a pile.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used a garden ____ to gather the fallen leaves into a large pile before bagging them.

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