as in loads
a considerable amount
the babysitter had to listen to a whole raft of rules before she was allowed to even pick up the baby
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Recent Examples of rafts
Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Clandestine rafts Becoming a rafter has always been a clandestine undertaking in Cuba.
—Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
From hovering inflatables that double as rafts, to multi-story tree stacks, to in-air winter lodges, Tentsile has developed what might be the world's most singular lineup of hanging tents.
—New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2026
Theron races through the forest and rafts through the rapids while Egerton follows her into caves and down the side of a cliff.
—Arushi Jacob, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
The volunteer group's flights centered on spotting Cuban refugees fleeing their homeland and attempting to come to the United States, often in makeshift boats or rafts.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
People hurl wooden crates overboard, tumble off rafts, and frantically don life jackets—sometimes all at once.
—Kristen Geil, Outside, 24 Feb. 2026
Visitors can paddle across its still surface on flat bamboo rafts or swim out to nearby monkey-less Monkey Island and spend the afternoon relaxing on its beautiful beach.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2026
And fire ants use their waxy, water-repellent coating and textured exoskeletons to trap air; during floods, thousands cling together to make buoyant, living rafts that can survive 12 days and possibly longer.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2026
Noun
In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.
—Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Clandestine rafts Becoming a rafter has always been a clandestine undertaking in Cuba.
—Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
From hovering inflatables that double as rafts, to multi-story tree stacks, to in-air winter lodges, Tentsile has developed what might be the world's most singular lineup of hanging tents.
—New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2026
Theron races through the forest and rafts through the rapids while Egerton follows her into caves and down the side of a cliff.
—Arushi Jacob, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
The volunteer group's flights centered on spotting Cuban refugees fleeing their homeland and attempting to come to the United States, often in makeshift boats or rafts.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
People hurl wooden crates overboard, tumble off rafts, and frantically don life jackets—sometimes all at once.
—Kristen Geil, Outside, 24 Feb. 2026
Visitors can paddle across its still surface on flat bamboo rafts or swim out to nearby monkey-less Monkey Island and spend the afternoon relaxing on its beautiful beach.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2026
And fire ants use their waxy, water-repellent coating and textured exoskeletons to trap air; during floods, thousands cling together to make buoyant, living rafts that can survive 12 days and possibly longer.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rafts
Noun
-
Once transported to the canyon, the modular components were assembled and put into place using one of the world’s largest cable cranes (cranes that move loads while suspended on cables), which spanned the gorge between the two towers.—
Aman Kumar,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 Apr. 2026
-
According to Archer Western, HDR’s design engineers failed to properly account for wind loads — including hurricane winds — in an initial, partial design for the signature bridge arches that the contractor used to calculate construction costs and time for its bid.—
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Texas House Administration Committee has voted along party lines to order dozens of Democratic lawmakers to pay nearly $422,000 in fines and costs related to their decision to flee the state last year.—
Jack Fink,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Leone taught and codified dozens of complicated pick-stroke combinations, to give depth and expression.—
Tim Parks,
New Yorker,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cut with a curved outer seam that balloons slightly through the thigh before tapering at the ankle, the shape is all about creating volume.—
Daisy Maldonado,
InStyle,
29 Dec. 2025
-
The mid-rise jeans have an exaggerated barrel silhouette that balloons out at the knee and tapers into a wide-leg fit at the ankle.—
Clara McMahon,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Evergreen has been forced to skip the burning of slash piles this winter because of a lack of snow.—
Alan Gionet,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
This comprises 5,468 ultra-fast charging piles, 1,216 800-V ultra-fast charging stations, and 6,269 stations in highway service areas.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But when Willy floats into a conversation with Ben or experiences a memory of Biff’s high-school glory days, golden light floods the stage through a high bank of dirty windows.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Yet the technology for wind power that floats is just emerging, and has never been attempted in waters as deep as the Pacific off Northern California.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Is the economy irrationally exuberant, with tons of rapid, expensive hiring and new investment?—
Alex Mayyasi,
NPR,
7 Apr. 2026
-
An asteroid the size of a house exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk with the force of 440,000 tons of TNT, damaging buildings and injuring more than 1,600 people, according to NASA.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Pharmaceutical companies must typically invest many years and hundreds of millions of dollars to win approval for a drug; partly for this reason, some promising treatments are never approved, and many arrive too late for people who urgently need them.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Factor in a tax multiplier for those who repeatedly spend past the salary cap, and payroll expenses can include hundreds of millions in taxes.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Choose from pasta, rice and Spicy Buffalo Ranch Mac & Cheese in four and eight-pack options, plus bundles.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Hostinger’s managed WordPress hosting bundles the core pieces into one plan.—
StackCommerce Team,
PC Magazine,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rafts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rafts. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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