Rake, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Raked p. pr. & vb. n. Raking.]
1. To collect with a rake; as, to rake hay; -- often with up; as, he raked up the fallen leaves.
2. Hence: To collect or draw together with laborious industry; to gather from a wide space; to scrape together; as, to rake together wealth; to rake together slanderous tales; to rake together the rabble of a town.
3. To pass a rake over; to scrape or scratch with a rake for the purpose of collecting and clearing off something, or for stirring up the soil; as, to rake a lawn; to rake a flower bed.
4. To search through; to scour; to ransack.
The statesman rakes the town to find a plot. --Swift.
5. To scrape or scratch across; to pass over quickly and lightly, as a rake does.
Like clouds that rake the mountain summits. --Wordsworth.
6. Mil. To enfilade; to fire in a direction with the length of; in naval engagements, to cannonade, as a ship, on the stern or head so that the balls range the whole length of the deck.
To rake up. (a) To collect together, as the fire (live coals), and cover with ashes. (b) To bring up; to search out and bring to notice again; as, to rake up old scandals.