rake
rake [rake rakes raked raking] noun, verb BrE [reɪk] NAmE [reɪk]
noun 
1. countable a garden tool with a long handle and a row of metal points at the end, used for gathering fallen leaves and making soil smooth
2. countable (old-fashioned)a man, especially a rich and fashionable one, who is thought to have low moral standards, for example because he drinks or gambles a lot or has sex with a lot of women
3. singular (technical)the amount by which sth, especially the stage in a theatre, slopes
Word Origin:
n. sense 1 and v. and
Old English raca racu Germanic Dutch raak German Rechen ‘heap up’ Old Norse raka ‘to scrape, shave’ n. sense 2 mid 17th cent. rakehell n. sense 3 early 17th cent. German ragen ‘to project’ Swedish raka
Idiom: ↑rake somebody over the coals
Derived: ↑rake in something ▪ ↑rake over something ▪ ↑rake something up
verb
1. transitive, intransitive to pull a ↑rake over a surface in order to make it level or to remove sth
•~ (sth) (+ adv./prep.) The leaves had been raked into a pile.
• (figurative)She raked a comb through her hair.
•~ sth + adj. First rake the soil smooth.
2. transitive ~ sth (with sth) to point a camera, light, gun, etc. at sb/sth and move it slowly from one side to the other
•They raked the streets with machine-gun fire.
•Searchlights raked the grounds.
3. intransitive + adv./prep. to search a place carefully for sth
•She raked around in her bag for her keys.
4. transitive, intransitive ~ (sth) to scratch the surface of sth with a sharp object, especially your nails
Verb forms: 
Word Origin:
n. sense 1 and v. and
Old English raca racu Germanic Dutch raak German Rechen ‘heap up’ Old Norse raka ‘to scrape, shave’ n. sense 2 mid 17th cent. rakehell n. sense 3 early 17th cent. German ragen ‘to project’ Swedish raka
See also: ↑haul somebody over the coals
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