as in searching
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
he raked repeatedly through his luggage, hoping that in one of the bags he would find his lost passport before his flight's departure
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Recent Examples of raking
Fleischer recommends waiting until a snowstorm has ended before raking the roof and to never use a ladder in the snow.
—
Christina Cush, Architectural Digest, 20 Feb. 2026
This was a much better advert for the use of VAR, as was a late, raking challenge by Lucas Digne on Jacob Murphy shortly before half-time, which only brought a yellow card rather than a red.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Just ask DePaul-area resident Janice Hughes, who claims she was rear-ended by a Coco robot while raking the parkway in front of her home.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
Aviles recommends loosening the soil by hand or raking it with a garden claw to aerate it.
—Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 29 Jan. 2026
Fend it off in fall by raking the leaves off your lawn or chopping them up with your mower, leaving behind a very thin layer on the grass.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Jan. 2026
In a newspaper clipping more than 50 years old, a photo shows two little girls in Ceres raking a huge pile of mulberry leaves.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Burrow, who spoke with media after the Bengals lost 18-20 to the Cleveland Browns, seemed bothered by his 'do from the start, sitting down at the mic and instantly raking his lengthy bangs back with his hands.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
Work your way up to the scalp, raking the product to ensure that your curls are evenly coated.
—Grace McCarty, Glamour, 19 Dec. 2025
Christina Cush, Architectural Digest, 20 Feb. 2026
This was a much better advert for the use of VAR, as was a late, raking challenge by Lucas Digne on Jacob Murphy shortly before half-time, which only brought a yellow card rather than a red.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Just ask DePaul-area resident Janice Hughes, who claims she was rear-ended by a Coco robot while raking the parkway in front of her home.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
Aviles recommends loosening the soil by hand or raking it with a garden claw to aerate it.
—Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 29 Jan. 2026
Fend it off in fall by raking the leaves off your lawn or chopping them up with your mower, leaving behind a very thin layer on the grass.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Jan. 2026
In a newspaper clipping more than 50 years old, a photo shows two little girls in Ceres raking a huge pile of mulberry leaves.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Burrow, who spoke with media after the Bengals lost 18-20 to the Cleveland Browns, seemed bothered by his 'do from the start, sitting down at the mic and instantly raking his lengthy bangs back with his hands.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
Work your way up to the scalp, raking the product to ensure that your curls are evenly coated.
—Grace McCarty, Glamour, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for raking
Verb
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Choreographer Meg Stuart was brought aboard the production to tease out these specifics that Mundruczó was searching for in his scenes.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2026
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The friends huddled together in the romantasy section, a genre mix of romance and fantasy, searching for their next book club read.—
Iris Sanchez,
Mercury News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Investigators are combing through tens of thousands of tips and poring over evidence, including analyzing DNA on a glove found near Guthrie’s home and investigating a backpack seen in a video of the suspect.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Investigators have determined that most of the gloves belonged to searchers combing the area for evidence.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Start scanning west immediately after sunset, then work your way east toward Jupiter.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026
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Kevin and Stacy headed toward the same destination by car, scanning the sky for the aircraft carrying their son.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Eagles missed numerous three-point attempts, while Sierra Canyon was finding different players to contribute.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Feb. 2026
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The two parties have not come to a resolution after a two-day fact-finding session, in which a neutral panel reviews contract disputes.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Raking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raking. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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