raking

verb

present participle of rake
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of raking Compost Fallen Leaves Instead of mowing, consider raking the fallen leaves into a compost pile. — Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 29 Aug. 2026 Early-season rainstorms and cooling temperatures can help plants establish roots, meaning your outdoor fall to-do list isn’t limited to just raking leaves. — Marisa Suzanne Martin, The Spruce, 29 Aug. 2026 Gatwood hoped to put in a new fence and was raking some rocks and dirt to make the yard smoother. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 Mopping the floor, raking leaves and shoveling snow all require dynamic stability that supports rotational movement. — Dana Santas, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026 In the instance above, his raking pass created a goal from what was originally a one-on-four situation in Argentina’s favour. — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 18 July 2026 In another video posted on Instagram on June 11, Neill was seen raking an olive tree. — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026 How To Clean Cotton/Jersey Gardening Gloves Cotton makes a good all-purpose glove for raking leaves and tidying your yard. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 8 June 2026 Just avoid raking clover seed after planting as this covers the seeds with too much soil and reduces germination rates. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for raking
  1. searching
  2. combing
  3. scanning
  4. finding
Verb
  • While searching for a message to share with his team this week, Frost found inspiration from the handful of games that were played this weekend as part of Week 0.
    — Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The farm alleges an officer in Polk County shot the donkey while searching for a missing person without permission or warning, according to the Facebook post.
    — Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of searching
Verb
  • Tips and calls are coming in and investigators are combing through other video, Saucier said.
    — Elise Hammond, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The videos show search crews combing the Pentagon's charred corridors, and interviews with firefighters working to contain the disaster.
    — Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of combing
Verb
  • Clinical Trial Recruitment AI can accelerate clinical trial participant matching by scanning records against eligibility criteria, shortening recruitment dramatically.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • As the children played and the adults talked, Rose kept noticing her husband looking toward the water, scanning the horizon.
    — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of scanning
Verb
  • That has carried over in our approach to blocking and camera work, and finding ways to avoid cutting if at all possible.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Thomas Edison wrote about a bug in the call apparatus of his telephone in a letter in 1878, and the Pall Mall Gazette ran a story in 1889 referencing Edison finding a bug in his phonograph.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of finding

Browse Nearby Words

rake up
raking
raking (in)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Raking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raking. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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