How to use rake in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Rake means a garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor. Example: “She is raking the gravel path to keep it even.”

Examples of rake by meaning

nounA type of puffer train that leaves behind a stream of spaceships as it moves.

I've been dealing primarily with rake and spaceship interactions for ease of experimentation (a rake will invariably escape before being eaten by even its most hellish progeny, and a spaceship is easy to redraw on the spot).1991 January 10, Paul Callahan, “Questions and comments about Conway's Life (long)”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
That would mean building rake guns or glider gun arrays to construct moving walls.2003 August 19, Ilmari Karonen, “Inquiries about Conway's game of life”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet)
The switch engine is unstable but a number of them working in combination can form stable puffers, spaceships and rakes.2015, Paul Rendell, Turing Machine Universality of the Game of Life, page 133

nounA group of mules.

Plus, his ever-increasing rake of mules were outgrowing the small parcel of acreage he had inherited in Tennessee.2020, Barbara L. Wyckoff, Who Was Victoria Silkee
making the total payload of a typical rake of mules about 20 times greater than that of even the strongest flameme.2003, Mexico and the United States: Politics, local - Zoot suit riots, Marshall Cavendish, page 830

verbTo act upon with a rake, or as if with a rake.

She is raking the gravel path to keep it even.
We raked all the leaves into a pile.

verbOften followed by in: to gather (things which are apart) together, especially quickly.

The casino is just raking in the cash; it’s like a licence to print money.

verbTo claw at; to scrape, to scratch; followed by away: to erase, to obliterate.

The cat’s sharp claws raked the side of my face.

verbTo search through (thoroughly).

Jack's gaze raked the room, searching for some indication that something was wrong, that someone was going to suddenly spring forward and grab her.2003 March, Karyn Monk, The Wedding Escape, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 96

verbTo move (a beam of light, a glance with the eyes, etc.) across (something) with a long side-to-side motion...

The enemy machine guns raked the roadway.

nounA lot, plenty.

Jim has had a rake of trouble with his new car.

More sentences with rake

Don't kill yourself raking the leaves now; we're due for a windstorm tonight.From the entry kill
Rakes, shovels, hoes, and spades are some of the tools of the gardener's trade.From the entry tool
The steep rake of the windshield enhances the fast lines of the exterior.From the entry steep
He used his arm to rake the books off the shelf.From the entry rake off
Don't kill yourself raking the leaves now: We're due for a windstorm tonight.From the entry kill oneself
We need more gardening equipment if we want to properly landscape our yard, not just a rake and some gloves.From the entry equipment
I raked the soil then distributed grass seed.From the entry distribute
A rake is a long-handled toothed gardening tool.From the entry handled
I didn't have to rake. The leaves just blew away.From the entry blow away
She raked him over the coals for lying to her.From the entry rake over the coals
The company barely lifted a finger, and yet it still raked in more than two million euros in consulting fees.From the entry rake in
The Indomitable raked the frigate’s stern with double-shotted guns.From the entry double-shot
Please rake out the stables tomorrow.From the entry rake out
You pour batter onto it, spreading it into a perfect circle with a tiny rake.2025, Steven Raichlen, “Crêpes and Co.”, in Project Griddle: The Versatile Art of Grilling on a Flattop, New York, N.Y.: Workman, →ISBN. From the entry crêpière
Dozens of the nudifier sites are raking in millions of dollars a year.2025 August 11, Brian X. Chen, “Why A.I. Should Make Parents Rethink Posting Photos of Their Children Online”, in The New York Times…. From the entry nudifier
He raked his fingers through his coal hair, sighing with frustration.2023 May 31, Jo Wilde, The Angel Series Collection - Books 1-3, Next Chapter. From the entry coal
He raked his fingers through his hair, which had become a Jewfro in the Florida humidity.2022, Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Vintage (2023), page 160. From the entry jewfro
“You cinnamon roll.” She raked her fingers through his hair and smiled.2021 May 19, Elle Beaumont, “Delia”, in Apple of Fate (Gods Among Us; 0.5), Midnight Tide Publishing, →ISBN. From the entry cinnamon roll
Off-lease Mk 4s taken to Worksop: LNER B26 is the latest rake of Mk 4s sent off-lease.2019 November 6, “Fleet News”, in Rail, page 28. From the entry off-lease
In the Middle East, top ‘YouNowers’ are currently raking in thousands of dollars.2016 July 10, David Light, “Want to earn $10K per month doing what he does?”, in Khaleej Times. From the entry YouNower
“Give him up!” she rakes lasery eyebeams over commuters till they burst into bone popcorn.2014, Ron Dakron, chapter 22, in Hello Devilfish!, New York, N.Y.: Three Rooms Press, →ISBN, page 125. From the entry lasery
Waving butcher knives and rakes." "The rebels don't stand a chance."2014 September 21, Edward W. Robertson, The Cycle of Arawn: The Complete Trilogy, Edward W. Robertson. From the entry goatback
He exposed a row of teeth that were sharp and gapped like a thatcher's rake.2013, Ross King, Ex Libris, →ISBN. From the entry thatcher's rake
He then retrieved a metal thatch rake and used it to tamp down the ashes.2011, Stephen W. Trout, My Father's Son, →ISBN, page 128. From the entry thatch rake
She tried not to be flattered, knowing this rake could talk a dog off a meat wagon.2008, Georgina Gentry, To Wed A Texan, →ISBN. From the entry meat wagon
Budget hotels are raking it in as business people feel the crunch.2008, The Observer, 5 Oct 08. From the entry rake it in
Their das done that, they just raked yer midgie and got yer old rubbish.2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 32. From the entry midgie
A stiff lawn rake can also work if the thatch layer is one-half to one inch thick.2007, Trey Rogers, Lawn Geek: Tips and Tricks for the Ultimate Turf From the Guru of Grass, →ISBN. From the entry thatch rake

Meaning of rake

noun A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor.
noun A tool with a straight edge at the end used by a croupier to move chips or money across a gaming table.
noun A type of lockpick that has a ridged or notched blade that moves across the pins in a pin tumbler lock, causing them to settle into a shear line.

Full definition of rake

Questions about rake in a sentence

How do you use rake in a sentence?: Rake is used as a noun and verb. For example: “She is raking the gravel path to keep it even.”
What is a short sentence with rake?: “Please rake out the stables tomorrow.”
What does rake mean?: Rake means a garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor.

Adapted from Wiktionary: rake (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use rake in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/rake. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.