“Rake” has a few common meanings, but the most usual one is a garden tool with a long handle and metal or plastic teeth used to gather leaves or smooth soil. It can also be a verb, meaning to use that tool, like “rake the leaves.”

Other meanings

  • A person who lives in a wild or immoral way, especially an old-fashioned rich man.
  • In informal slang, it can mean different things depending on context, including “a lot” in some texting use.
  • It can also mean to search through something carefully, like “rake through papers.”

Simple example

  • “I used a rake to clean the yard.”
  • “He was known as a rake in old stories.”

Short meaning

  • If you mean everyday English, rake = garden tool.