Added 9 October 2026
raid
/ɹeɪd/ noun
In Latin: excursus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about raid at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
verb
-
Search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on.
The police raided the crack house
-
Enter someone else's territory and take spoils.
The pirates raided the coastal villages regularly
-
Take over (a company) by buying a controlling interest of its stock.
T. Boone Pickens raided many large companies
Origin
From Scots raid, from Northern Middle English rade, from Old English rād (“a riding, an expedition on horseback, road”), whence also the inherited English road (“way, street”). The earlier senses of “a riding, expedition, raid” fell into disuse in Early Modern English, but were revived in the northern form raid by Walter Scott in the early 19th century. The use for a swift police operation appears in the later 19th century and may perhaps have been influenced by French razzia (similar in both original meaning and sound).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)