What does raked mean?
Raked is the past tense and past participle of the verb rake, and it is also used as a participial adjective. Its most familiar meaning is to draw a rake across a surface to gather or remove leaves, debris, or loose soil, as in "raked the lawn." The word can also describe something searched or examined thoroughly, as in "raked through the records," or collected, as in "raked in money." In descriptions of a person's appearance, "raked" refers to hair, eyes, or other features arranged sharply backward or at an angle, creating a dramatic or severe effect. Finally, it can describe gravel, soil, or another surface that has been leveled and smoothed with a rake. Raked is consequently useful across both practical and figurative contexts: it evokes the motion of a tool, the methodical character of a search, and the striking geometry of a backward-swept appearance.
Used especially of a person drawing a rake over a surface to gather or remove material; by extension, searching through something or collecting a resource.
"Workers raked the gravel around the newly planted trees."
The phrase "raked through" means searched exhaustively, often somewhat indiscriminately.
Describing material that has been gathered or leveled with a rake, or features such as hair or eyes that are swept sharply backward or held at an angle.
"The path was covered with finely raked gravel."
The sense involving hair or features is typically evaluative and describes a deliberately angled appearance.
Raked can describe both a tidy garden and a dramatic look: leaves are raked into piles, while hair or eyes may be raked back at a striking angle.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does raked come from?
Raked is the ordinary English inflection of rake and is not an independent word with a separate origin. The English noun and verb descend from Old English rac or raca, meaning an implement used for scraping or gathering material, with related forms in Old Norse and Middle Dutch. The modern verb's figurative senses developed through extensions from the physical action of raking to searching and gathering.
Related word forms
How raked is actually used
The word is common in gardening and household contexts. In expressions such as "raked through," it suggests an exhaustive or unsparing search; "raked" can also carry a visual sense of being swept sharply backward or held at a pronounced angle.
Easily confused with raked
Raked refers to drawing or sweeping with a rake, while racked means stacked, arranged, or stored, as in a racked tennis ball.
Rake is the base verb and noun; raked is its usual past-tense and past-participle form and can also function as a participial adjective.