English Reference
verb · noun

raising

v. · n.
US /ˈɹeɪzɪŋ/ UK /ɹˈeɪzɪŋ/ rais·ing UK spelling raisings

  1. 01 A2 Elementary

    v.the action of moving something to a higher position or increasing a level.

    v.the present participle of 'raise', denoting the act of elevating an object or increasing a quantity, level, or intensity.

    Simple

    The workers are raising the heavy beams to the top of the new house.

    In context

    By raising the interest rates, the central bank hopes to curb inflation and stabilise the national currency over the next fiscal quarter.

    Pitfall
    The sun is raising in the east. The sun is rising in the east.

    Use 'raising' when someone lifts an object; use 'rising' when something moves up by itself.

  2. 02 B1 Intermediate

    n.the process of looking after children or animals while they grow up.

    n.the act of nurturing, breeding, or providing sustenance and protection for a living thing from birth to maturity.

    Simple

    The raising of healthy children requires a lot of patience and support.

    In context

    The successful raising of livestock in such an arid climate requires sophisticated irrigation and careful land management.

  3. 03 B2 Upper Intermediate

    n.the act of collecting or gathering money for a specific purpose.

    n.the process of soliciting or accumulating capital, typically for a charity, business venture, or political campaign.

    Simple

    The charity focused on the raising of funds for the new hospital wing.

    In context

    The rapid raising of capital through private investors allowed the startup to expand its operations into international markets ahead of schedule.

  4. 04 C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    n.a change in a language where a vowel sound is produced with the tongue higher in the mouth.

    n.a phonological process or historical sound change in which a vowel becomes higher, involving a more elevated tongue position.

    Simple

    The teacher explained how vowel raising changed the way people speak over centuries.

    In context

    The Great Vowel Shift involved the raising of long vowels, fundamentally altering the phonetic landscape of Middle English.

  5. 05 C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    n.moving a word from a small part of a sentence to the main part.

    n.a syntactic operation where an element from a subordinate clause is moved into a higher position in the matrix clause.

    Simple

    In the sentence 'He seems to be happy', raising moves the subject to the start.

    In context

    Subject-to-subject raising is a common feature in English verbs like 'seem' and 'appear', where the embedded subject occupies the matrix subject position.

Usage raising concerns · raising the possibility · raising children


Inherited from Middle English reysynge; equivalent to raise + -ing.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Middle English reysynge
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Common
Updated