raft

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
a
: a flat structure (as of wood) for support or transportation on water
"How shall we cross the river?" asked Dorothy. "That is easily done," replied the Scarecrow. "The Tin Woodman must build us a raft, so we can float to the other side." So the Woodman took his axe and began to chop down small trees to make a raftL. Frank Baum
… has made a living poling a raft on the Suchiate for two decades …María Verza and Sonia Pérez
In addition to a gorgeous 400' long sandy beach with a swim raft, there are 44 boat docks which are licensed to individual … homeowners.Frank Roche
also : an inflatable flat-bottomed watercraft
Finally, the three astronauts, wearing their isolation garments, clambered out of the spacecraft into a rubber raft. Brian Duff
All my fishing gear, which sometimes included an inflatable raft, went into a backpack so that my hands would be free to carry my shotgun. Nelson Bryant
b
: a collection of logs or timber fastened together in order to be floated downstream (as to a sawmill)
Soviet loggers commonly float individual logs down rivers to sawmills, rather than lashing them together in rafts.A. Kent MacDougall
2
: a floating naturally cohesive mass
rafts of kelp
Home sites and hunting vantage points would have been undercut by the waves, salt meadows would have become angry shallow seas, and bitter salt and rafts of sea ice would have killed the willow brush and rich sedge meadows of the river deltas.William W. Fitzburg and Aron Crowell
3
: an aggregation of animals (such as waterfowl) resting on the water
a raft of ducks

raft

2 of 3

verb

rafted; rafting; rafts

transitive verb

1
a
: to transport by means of a raft (see raft entry 1 sense 1a)
Lewis was rafting supplies cross river … when he dumped his raft, soaking his chronometer.Fred Haefele
b
: to transport in the form of a raft (see raft entry 1 sense 1b)
… the logs which had been floating in them were swept down the river to the sea before being rafted away to the sawmills.D. A. Bathgate
c
: to convey (something, such as pebbles) in floating ice or masses of organic material
… sediment deposits are dominated by rock fragments released by melting ice. Even large rocks are rafted out and then released as the ice melts.M. Grant Gross
2
: to travel along or across (a river or other body of water) on a raft
Although the writing is somewhat pedestrian, river rats will enjoy the 27 accounts … of rafting rivers in 11 Western states.Tom Miller
3
: to make into a raft
rafted the logs

intransitive verb

: to travel by raft
rafted across moderate rapids
raftable adjective
raftable white water

raft

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a large collection or number

Examples of raft in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Many of her neighbors, rafted together by war and dictatorship, and imprisoned for the sins of their husbands and fathers, have nowhere to return to. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The list also said people can support the local Native American community by booking a Colorado River adventure with the Hualapai River Runners which is a white-water rafting company led by Hualapai Tribe river guides. Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 17 Jan. 2024 White Water Rafting in Canada Whitewater rafting on Nahatlatch River, Canada. Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 10 Feb. 2024 The crew sets up a shot of fire ants rafting in a tank. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Jan. 2024 In the summer, proximity to a number of rafting tour outposts will please adrenaline seekers. Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 17 Jan. 2024 More adventurous travelers who come in the summer can try river rafting on the Rio Grande or Rio Chama, and hikers of all skill levels can hit the trails in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Catherine Garcia, The Week Us, theweek, 7 Jan. 2024 Smith spent time spear fishing and rafting down the Amazon River with his dad and siblings. Michal Lev-Ram, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2023 There’s time to visit Lake Louise, Banff, and Jasper and there’s also rafting on the Kicking Horse River. Everett Potter, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023
Noun
In March 2021, a raft of Western brands like H&M, Nike and Adidas were boycotted by nationalist consumers for refusing to use cotton produced in the western region of Xinjiang. Laura He, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 In 2014, when the U.S. government attempted to extradite Polanski, a raft of Hollywood luminaries signed a petition in his defense. Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Right now, this is also making headlines, as Gemini (née Bard) is rolled out across Google’s ecosystem, along with a raft of warnings that user content will likely be stored in the cloud and may be subject to human review. Zak Doffman, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 And a raft of forward-looking data suggests that inflation will continue to cool. Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2024 To help promote this vision of a more tolerant, modern country driven by a strong sense of nationhood, MBS has unveiled a raft of new initiatives. Bernard Haykel, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2024 Only Rose used the makeshift raft, with Jack dying of hypothermia. Zack Sharf, Variety, 12 Feb. 2024 To the far West and the Pacific Flyway, the Columbia River plays home to vast rafts of bluebills—both lessers and greaters—and has, in recent years, become a popular destination for hunters seeking scaup. M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 8 Feb. 2024 Hence the raft of announcements from disappointed automakers. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'raft.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English rafte rafter, raft, from Old Norse raptr rafter

Noun (2)

alteration of raff jumble

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1667, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1821, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of raft was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near raft

Cite this Entry

“Raft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raft. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

raft

1 of 3 noun
: a flat structure (as a group of logs fastened together) for support or transportation on water

raft

2 of 3 verb
: to transport or move on or by means of a raft

raft

3 of 3 noun
: a large amount or number
Etymology

Noun

Middle English rafte "rafter, raft"; of Norse origin

Noun

probably an altered form of earlier raff "jumble"

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