Word.ws English Dictionary

raise the bar

raise the bar verb: to raise standards or expectations, especially by creating something to a higher standard.

Verb

raise the bar (third-person singular simple present raises the bar, present participle raising the bar, simple past and past participle raised the bar)

  1. (idiomatic) To raise standards or expectations, especially by creating something to a higher standard.
    • Acme's new technology will raise the bar for the entire industry.
    Synonyms:
    lift the bar
    Antonyms:
    lower the bar

Synonyms of raise the bar

Antonyms

Forms of raise the bar

third-person singular presentraises the bar
present participleraising the bar
past participleraised the bar
pastraised the bar

Questions about raise the bar

What does raise the bar mean?
Raise the bar means to raise standards or expectations, especially by creating something to a higher standard.
What part of speech is raise the bar?
Raise the bar is a verb.
What is the past tense of raise the bar?
The past tense of raise the bar is raised the bar.

Words near raise the bar in the dictionary

  1. raise someone's shag
  2. raise someone's spirits
  3. raise steam
  4. raise the alarm
  5. raise the ante
  6. raise the bar
  7. raise the dead
  8. raise the devil
  9. raise the flag and see who salutes
  10. raise the line
  11. raise the roof

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: raise the bar (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-raise the bar.ogg.

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