RAVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rave mean? 

• RAVE (noun)
  The noun RAVE has 2 senses:

1. a dance party that lasts all night and electronically synthesized music is played

2. an extravagantly enthusiastic review

  Familiarity information: RAVE used as a noun is rare.

• RAVE (verb)
  The verb RAVE has 3 senses:

1. participate in an all-night techno dance party

2. talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner

3. praise enthusiastically

  Familiarity information: RAVE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RAVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A dance party that lasts all night and electronically synthesized music is played

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

raves are very popular in Berlin

Hypernyms ("rave" is a kind of...):

dance (a party for social dancing)

Derivation:

rave (participate in an all-night techno dance party)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An extravagantly enthusiastic review

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he gave it a rave

Hypernyms ("rave" is a kind of...):

critical review; critique; review; review article (an essay or article that gives a critical evaluation (as of a book or play))

Derivation:

rave (praise enthusiastically)

• RAVE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they rave    ... he / she / it raves   
Past simple: raved   
Past participle: raved   
-ing form: raving   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Participate in an all-night techno dance party

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "rave" is one way to...):

party (have or participate in a party)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

rave (a dance party that lasts all night and electronically synthesized music is played)

raver (a participant in a rave dancing party)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

jabber; mouth off; rabbit on; rant; rave; spout

Hypernyms (to "rave" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue rave
Sam and Sue rave over the results of the experiment

Derivation:

raver (someone who rants and raves; speaks in a violent or loud manner)

raving (declaiming wildly)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Praise enthusiastically

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

gush; rave

Context example:

She raved about that new restaurant

Hypernyms (to "rave" is one way to...):

praise (express approval of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue rave over the results of the experiment

Derivation:

rave (an extravagantly enthusiastic review)

 Context examples 

He is mad, stark, raving mad, and it's no use my trying to stop him.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Again Holmes raved in the air.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Your partner will bring great news for you involving your career and an upcoming project, or one you have just finished this month to rave reviews.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

In the back kitchen, I raved as became me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Imagine the shock; imagine how, till I had actually detected my own blunder, I raved at the blunders of the post.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

How they shouted and stamped and raved in their delight!

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Some way down from where he had left him the unfortunate Peter was stamping and raving tenfold worse than before.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was for ever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The Duke had dropped the last attempt at self-command, and was pacing the room with a convulsed face and with his clenched hands raving in the air.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I think I rave in a kind of exquisite delirium.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)