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

Noun (2) the babysitter had to listen to a whole raft of rules before she was allowed to even pick up the baby
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Over the years, he’s completed the Marathon des Sables (a 150-mile-long run across the Sahara), pack rafted across Iceland and even walked from one coast of India to the other. Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Dec. 2024 Thousands of tourists arrive in Hope each summer to raft the Class IV and V rapids of Six Mile Creek, which flows into a narrow ocean bay called Turnagain Arm, where the inrushing tide is so fierce people regularly surf it. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2024
Noun
In June, several guests jumped from a raft on the Roaring Rapids attraction at Six Flags Over Texas after boats stalled in one area along the ride's course. EW.com, 26 Nov. 2024 Train services connecting London and Swansea in Wales, as well as from Exeter to Okehampton and Barnstaple in the southwestern part of the country, were among a raft of routes that were canceled, according to Great Western Railway. Manveena Suri, CNN, 25 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for raft 

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 11 Dec. 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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