Word.ws English Dictionary

on the raw

on the raw adverb: on exposed flesh; (chiefly figuratively), in such a way as to affect someone deeply or in a sensitive area.

Adverb

on the raw (not comparable)

  1. On exposed flesh; (chiefly figuratively), in such a way as to affect someone deeply or in a sensitive area.
    • He was developing a sense of humour, and found that he had a knack of saying bitter things, which caught people on the raw […].1915, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 18, in Of Human Bondage
    • What got 'im on the raw was Tommy Hogarth going against 'im in that business.1926, Arnold Bennett, Lord Raingo

Questions about on the raw

What does on the raw mean?
On the raw means on exposed flesh; (chiefly figuratively), in such a way as to affect someone deeply or in a sensitive area.
What part of speech is on the raw?
On the raw is an adverb.

Words near on the raw in the dictionary

  1. on the rag
  2. on the rail
  3. on the rails
  4. on the rampage
  5. on the ran tan
  6. on the raw
  7. on the razz
  8. on the razzle
  9. on the razzle-dazzle
  10. on the ready
  11. on the real

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on the raw (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “on the raw.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/on_the_raw. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.