Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

rave

/ɹeɪv/

Press play to hear how to pronounce rave.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does rave mean?

noun

  1. (informal) An enthusiastic review (such as of a play).
  2. A large-scale dance party with strobe lights and fast-paced electronic dance music, often illegally organized open-air or in underground venues.
  3. The genres of electronic dance music made to be played in rave parties.
More meanings (11)

verb

  1. To be mentally unclear; to be delirious; to talk or act irrationally; to be wild, furious, or raging.
  2. To speak or write wildly or incoherently.
  3. To talk or otherwise express oneself with excessive enthusiasm, passion or excitement.
  4. To speak (a message) with intense enthusiasm, passion or excitement.
  5. To attend a rave (dance party).
  6. To wander or roam.
  7. To stray or err.
  8. (obsolete) To rush wildly or furiously.
  9. (obsolete) simple past of rive

noun

  1. One of the upper side pieces of the frame of a wagon body or a sleigh.

proper noun

  1. A surname.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ɹeɪv/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

The monster had been terrible, it seemed, had done nothing but rave, waiting for her to give him the "yes" which she refused.
Gaston LerouxThe Phantom of the OperaProject Gutenberg ebook #175
At the end of this yoke is a round iron projection, made to fit into a socket in the upper rave of the boat.
S. H. (Samuel H.) HammondWild Northern Scenes; Or, Sporting Adventures with the Rifle and the RodProject Gutenberg ebook #10009
More book examples (3)
The chaunt of the marsh frog in rushes, That chimes through the pauses and hushes Of nightfall, the torrent that gushes, The tempests that rave.
Adam Lindsay GordonPoems by Adam Lindsay GordonProject Gutenberg ebook #258
Sometimes, in his insane fits, he would rave in the most frightful manner, and then, in a few moments, would be as easily governed as a child.
William Wells BrownClotelle; Or, The Colored Heroine, a tale of the Southern States; Or, The President's DaughterProject Gutenberg ebook #241
Neighbour Geraldo, after these morning potations, used to station himself opposite my house and rave about foreigners, gesticulating in a threatening manner towards me by the hour.
Henry Walter BatesThe Naturalist on the River AmazonsProject Gutenberg ebook #2440