What does "raid" mean?
A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle.
Raid
/ɹeɪd/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle.
- Grammar: raid is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: foray, aggression, air attack, air raid.
- Useful contrasts: compliance, consent, defend.
- Usage evidence: The bandits made a raid on the village.
How to use "raid"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "raid" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "raid" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "raid" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "raid" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "raid" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "foray" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "raid", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle.
"Marauding chief! his sole delight / The moonlight raid, the morning fight."
- 2 Acronym of Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 an attempt by speculators to defraud investors wordnet
- 4 An attack or invasion for the purpose of making arrests, seizing property, or plundering.
"a police raid of a narcotics factory"
- 5 Initialism of risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 a sudden short attack wordnet
- 7 An attacking movement.
"The athletic Walker, one of Tottenham's more effective attacking elements with his raids from right-back, made a timely intervention after Rose had been dispossessed and even Aaron Lennon was needed to provide an interception in the danger zone to foil another attempt by the Russians."
- 8 An activity initiated at or towards the end of a live broadcast by the broadcaster that sends its viewers to a different broadcast, primarily intended to boost the viewership of the receiving broadcaster. This is frequently accompanied by a message in the form of a hashtag that is posted in the broadcast's chat by the viewers. Internet
"Now that Twitch is making raids an official part of the platform, however, some streamers think the new feature will make it easier to participate in the positive aspects of raiding."
- 9 A large group in a massively multiplayer online game, consisting of multiple parties who team up to defeat a powerful enemy. Internet
- 10 An event involving a group of users, often using bots and scripts, who join a server to harm it or harass its members.
"I used the tools discord gave me to prevent raids but he somehow knows a bypass, I use bots and they do help prevent it but just having him ping 90 guys once makes people bash me for an entire hour."
Verb
- 1 To engage in a raid against. transitive
"The police raided the gambling den."
- 2 search for something needed or desired wordnet
- 3 To lure from another; to entice away from. transitive
- 4 enter someone else's territory and take spoils wordnet
- 5 To indulge oneself by taking from. transitive
"I raided the fridge for snacks."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 take over (a company) by buying a controlling interest of its stock wordnet
- 7 search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The bandits made a raid on the village."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "raid"?
Common synonyms include: foray, aggression, air attack, air raid, air strike, ambush.
How do you use "raid" in a sentence?
The bandits made a raid on the village.
How do you pronounce "raid"?
Pronounced /ɹeɪd/.
Etymology
From Scots raid, from Northern Middle English rade, from Old English rād (“a riding, an expedition on horseback, road”), whence also the inherited English road (“way, street”). The earlier senses of “a riding, expedition, raid” fell into disuse in Early Modern English, but were revived in the northern form raid by Walter Scott in the early 19th century. The use for a swift police operation appears in the later 19th century and may perhaps have been influenced by French razzia (similar in both original meaning and sound).