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rake

/ɹeɪk/noun, verb

rake is spelled R-A-K-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rake means “A 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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rake is rakes.

How many letters and syllables are in rake?

Letters4: R-A-K-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is rake?

Rake appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce rake?

  • US /ɹeɪk/

Rake has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rake.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with rake

Sounds like: raik (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with rake?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rake from its last stressed vowel (/eɪk/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: reak.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of rake

  • rakes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • raking participle, present
  • raked participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • raik

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does rake mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A 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.

  2. 2

    A tool with a straight edge at the end used by a croupier to move chips or money across a gaming table.

  3. 3

    A type of lockpick that has a ridged or notched blade that moves across the pins in a pin tumbler lock, causing them to settle into a shear line.

  4. 4

    A type of puffer train that leaves behind a stream of spaceships as it moves.

  5. 5

    A group of mules.

  6. 6

    The act of raking.

  7. 7

    A share of profits, takings, etc., especially if obtained illegally; specifically (gambling) the scaled commission fee taken by a cardroom operating a poker game.

  8. 8

    IrelandScotlandslangA lot, plenty.

    Jim has had a rake of trouble with his new car.

  9. 9

    A course, a path, especially a narrow and steep path or route up a hillside.

  10. 10

    A fissure or mineral vein of ore traversing the strata vertically, or nearly so.

  11. 11

    ScotlandUKA series, a succession; specifically (rail transport) a set of coupled rail vehicles, normally coaches or wagons.

    The train was formed of a locomotive and a rake of six coaches.

  12. 12

    Alternative spelling of raik (“a course, a way; pastureland over which animals graze; a journey to transport something between two places; a run; also, the quantity of items so transported”).

  13. 13

    ScotlandRate of progress; pace, speed.

  14. 14

    A divergence from the horizontal or perpendicular; a slant, a slope.

  15. 15

    In full, angle of rake or rake angle: the angle between the edge or face of a tool (especially a cutting tool) and a plane (usually one perpendicular to the object that the tool is being applied to).

  16. 16

    The direction of slip during the movement of a fault, measured within the fault plane.

  17. 17

    A slant that causes the bow or stern of a watercraft to extend beyond the keel; also, the upper part of the bow or stern that extends beyond the keel.

  18. 18

    A slant of some other part of a watercraft (such as a funnel or mast) away from the perpendicular, usually towards the stern.

  19. 19

    The sloped edge of a roof at or adjacent to the first or last rafter.

  20. 20

    A person (usually a man) who is stylish but habituated to hedonistic and immoral conduct.

verb

  1. 1

    To act upon with a rake, or as if with a rake.

    She is raking the gravel path to keep it even.

  2. 2

    Often followed by in: to gather (things which are apart) together, especially quickly.

    The casino is just raking in the cash; it’s like a licence to print money.

  3. 3

    Often followed by an adverb or preposition such as away, off, out, etc.: to drag or pull in a certain direction.

  4. 4

    To claw at; to scrape, to scratch; followed by away: to erase, to obliterate.

    The cat’s sharp claws raked the side of my face.

  5. 5

    Followed by up: to bring up or uncover (something), as embarrassing information, past misdeeds, etc.

  6. 6

    To search through (thoroughly).

  7. 7

    To move (a beam of light, a glance with the eyes, etc.) across (something) with a long side-to-side motion; specifically (often military) to use a weapon to fire at (something) with a side-to-side motion; to spray with gunfire.

    The enemy machine guns raked the roadway.

  8. 8

    To fire upon an enemy vessel from a position in line with its bow or stern, causing one's fire to travel through the length of the enemy vessel for maximum damage.

  9. 9

    ScotlandTo move swiftly; to proceed rapidly.

  10. 10

    Of a bird of prey: to fly after a quarry; also, to fly away from the falconer, to go wide of the quarry being pursued.

  11. 11

    To incline (something) from a perpendicular direction.

    A mast rakes aft.

  12. 12

    To provide (the bow or stern of a watercraft) with a rake (“a slant that causes it to extend beyond the keel”).

  13. 13

    rareOf a watercraft: to have a rake at its bow or stern.

  14. 14

    Alternative spelling of raik (“(intransitive, Midlands, Northern England, Scotland) to walk; to roam, to wander; of animals (especially sheep): to graze; (transitive, chiefly Scotland) to roam or wander through (somewhere)”)

  15. 15

    datedrareTo behave as a rake; to lead a hedonistic and immoral life.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Rake in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrâteau (garden tool), ratisser (to act upon with a rake, or as if with a rake), fouiller, passer au peigne fin (to search through (thoroughly)), arroser (to use a weapon to fire at (something) with a…), rame (set of coupled rail vehicles)
GermanRechen, Harke (garden tool), rechen, harken (to act upon with a rake, or as if with a rake), durchkämmen (to search through (thoroughly)), Schwader (similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by horse or…)
Portugueserastel, rastelo, ancinho (garden tool), rastelar (to act upon with a rake, or as if with a rake), varrer (to search through (thoroughly)), libertino (person who is stylish but habituated to…)
Spanishrastrillo, angazo (garden tool), rastrillar (to act upon with a rake, or as if with a rake), calavera (person who is stylish but habituated to…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does rake come from?

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”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after rake