Synonyms of raid
1
a
: a hostile or predatory incursion
b
: a surprise attack by a small force
2
a
: a brief foray outside one's usual sphere
b
: a sudden invasion by officers of the law
c
: a daring operation against a competitor
d
: the recruiting of personnel (such as faculty, executives, or athletes) from competing organizations
3
: the act of mulcting public money
4
: an attempt by professional operators to depress stock prices by concerted selling

raid

2 of 2

verb

raided; raiding; raids

intransitive verb

: to conduct or take part in a raid

transitive verb

: to make a raid on

Examples of raid in a Sentence

Noun They launched a raid against the enemy. Weapons were also seized during the drug raid. They caught five smugglers in the raid. Verb The village was raided often by neighboring tribes. Police raided the house and found drugs. Federal agents raided the warehouse, seizing stolen property and arresting five smugglers. She raided her sister's closet to find something to wear to the party.
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.
Noun
The Israel Defense Forces captured Hamas' head of general security during a raid in Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026 While filming Practical Magic 2, Williams, 29, and the fellow Owens women got an invitation to Sandra Bullock‘s house, where their bonding session included a dip in the hot tub, a raid of the fridge and some quality time hanging out on the sofa. Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Verb
Thieves on Thursday raided the Treasure of Villena -- one of the greatest Bronze Age gold collections -- at a museum in the Spanish city of Villena, taking most of the 50-plus mainly gold bracelets, bowls, bottles and other items on display. CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 Mundubile, who rejected the election result as neither free nor fair, had been in hiding since security forces raided his Lusaka home during the election period. Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for raid

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English (Scots) rade, from Old English rād ride, raid — more at road

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1848, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Raid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raid. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Kids Definition

: a sudden attack or invasion

raid

2 of 2 verb
: to make a raid on
raider noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster