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raft
raft1 / raft/ • n. a flat buoyant structure of timber or other materials fastened together, used as a boat or floating platform. ∎ a small, inflatable rubber or plastic boat, esp. one for use in emergencies. ∎ a floating mass of fallen trees, vegetation, ice, or other material. ∎ a dense flock of swimming birds or mammals: great rafts of cormorants, often 5,000 strong. ∎ a layer of reinforced concrete forming the foundation of a building. • v. 1. [intr.] travel on or as if on a raft: I have rafted along the Rio Grande. ∎ [tr.] transport on or as a raft: the stores were rafted ashore I rafted 400 logs to my mill. ∎ (of an ice floe) be driven on top of or underneath another floe. ∎ [tr.] transport (timber) on water in the form of a raft. 2. [tr.] bring or fasten together (a number of boats or other objects) side by side. raft2 • n. a large amount of something: a raft of government initiatives. |
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"raft." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "raft." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-raft.html "raft." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-raft.html |
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raft
raft.
1. With the dugout, perhaps man's earliest form of marine transport. The seagoing bamboo sailing raft of Taiwan, used for raids on the Chinese coast as far back as the 8th century, is a likely progenitor of the Chinese junk, and rafts for transporting goods can still be seen on some Chinese rivers. Similar craft were used in Indo-China. Balsawood sailing rafts, which were manoeuvred by centreboards only, were also widely employed off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador, and the northern coast of Brazil, in the days of the Inca. Thor Heyerdahl constructed both a balsawood raft, and Egyptian ones made of papyrus, for his epic voyages across the Pacific and the Atlantic. 2. A flat, floating framework of spars, planks, or other timber formerly used to carry goods or cargo from the shore to a ship lying off for loading on board. Similarly a temporary platform made on board for lifesaving as a substitute for a boat. 3. Lumber, cut inland, lashed together, and floated down a river to the sea, is also known as a raft. |
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"raft." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "raft." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-raft.html "raft." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-raft.html |
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raft
raft floating platform of wood, cork, or air-inflated rubber for conveying goods or people. Originally, several logs, bound together by vines, strips of animal skin, and later rope, formed a flat surface upon which goods and people could move across bodies of water. From prehistoric times to the 19th cent. rafting was an important means of transportation. Rafts were indispensable in the frontier period of American history; on rivers such as the Ohio and Mississippi they were used to convey settlers and transport supplies. Large rafts are still used occasionally on the Pacific coast to float lumber along the coastline. In recent times life rafts have come to replace lifeboats on many vessels. Because they are more easily handled and cannot capsize or crash in launching, life rafts can merely be thrown over the side of a ship or permitted to slide down into the water. They contain distress signals and other emergency paraphernalia to sustain the lives of persons awaiting rescue. |
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"raft." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "raft." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-raft.html "raft." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-raft.html |
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raft
raft n.
1. a flat buoyant structure of timber or other materials fastened together, used as a boat or floating platform. 2. a small, inflatable rubber or plastic boat, especially one for use in emergencies. v. 1. travel on or as if on a raft: I have rafted along the Rio Grande. 2. transport on a raft: the stores were rafted ashore. 3. bring or fasten together (a number of boats or other objects) side by side. |
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"raft." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "raft." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-raft.html "raft." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-raft.html |
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Raft
Rafta large collection of people or things taken indiscriminately; a dense flock of swimming birds; a collection of logs; fallen trees. Examples : raft of auks (at sea); of swimming birds; of books; of crocodiles, 1774; of fellows, 1833; of folk; of logs; of masts, 1497; of people; of reporters; of tamarisk, 1822; of timber, 1745; of trees, 1806; of fallen trees; of verdure, 1876. |
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"Raft." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Raft." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301214.html "Raft." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301214.html |
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raft
raft. Type of foundation consisting of a solid slab, a slab with beams, or a cellular raft (containing a basement), all in reinforced concrete. It spreads the load from the building on the ground, and helps to prevent settlement.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "raft." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "raft." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-raft.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "raft." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-raft.html |
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raft
raft †beam, spar; structure of planks, etc., forming a means of transport over water. XV — ON. raptr rafter, rel. to OHG. rāvo beam, ON. ráfr, ræfr roof; cf. next.
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T. F. HOAD. "raft." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "raft." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-raft.html T. F. HOAD. "raft." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-raft.html |
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raft
raft •Taft
•abaft, aft, craft, daft, draft, draught, engraft, graft, haft, kraft, raft, shaft, understaffed, unstaffed, waft
•backdraft • handcraft • aircraft
•stagecraft • spacecraft • statecraft
•needlecraft • priestcraft • witchcraft
•kingcraft • handicraft • woodcraft
•Wollstonecraft • bushcraft
•watercraft • hovercraft • crankshaft
•camshaft • layshaft • driveshaft
•turboshaft • countershaft
•bereft, cleft, deft, eft, heft, klepht, left, reft, theft, weft
•adrift, drift, gift, grift, lift, rift, shift, shrift, sift, squiffed, swift, thrift, uplift
•airlift, chairlift, stairlift
•facelift • skilift • shoplift • Festschrift
•spendthrift • spindrift • snowdrift
•makeshift • downshift • upshift
•aloft, croft, loft, oft, soft, toft
•hayloft • Ashcroft • Cockcroft
•undercroft • Lowestoft
•tuft, unstuffed
•Delft
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Cite this article
"raft." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "raft." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-raft.html "raft." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-raft.html |
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RAFT
RAFT Banking revolving acceptance facility by tender
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FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "RAFT." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "RAFT." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-RAFT.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "RAFT." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-RAFT.html |
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