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rise (rīz)
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v. rose (rōz), ris·en (rĭzən), ris·ing, ris·es
v.intr.
1. To assume a standing position after lying, sitting, or kneeling.
2. To get out of bed: rose at dawn.
3. To move from a lower to a higher position; ascend: Hot air rises.
4. To increase in size, volume, or level: The river rises every spring.
5. To increase in number, amount, or value: Prices are rising.
6. To increase in intensity, force, or speed: The wind has risen.
7. To increase in pitch or volume: The sound of their voices rose and fell.
8. To ascend above the horizon: The moon rose an hour after sunset.
9. To extend upward; be prominent: The tower rose above the hill.
10. To slant or slope upward: Denali rises to nearly 6,200 meters.
11. To come into existence; originate: bitterness that rose from hard experience.
12. To be erected: New buildings are rising in the city.
13. To appear at the surface of the water or the earth; emerge.
14. To puff up or become larger; swell up: The bread dough should rise to double its original size.
15. To become stiff and erect: The hair rose on the cat's neck.
16. To attain a higher status: an officer who rose through the ranks.
17. To become apparent to the mind or senses: Old fears rose to haunt me.
18. To uplift oneself to meet a demand or challenge: She rose to the occasion and won the election.
19. To return to life: rose from the dead.
20. To rebel: "the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government" (Abraham Lincoln).
21. To close a session of an official assembly; adjourn.
v.tr.
1. To cause to rise: The dogs will rise the pheasants.
2. To cause (a distant object at sea) to become visible above the horizon by advancing closer.
n.
1. The act of rising; an ascent.
2. The degree of elevation or ascent.
3. The first appearance of a celestial object as it ascends above the horizon.
4. An increase in height, as of the level of water.
5. A gently sloped hill.
6. A long broad elevation that slopes gently from the earth's surface or the ocean floor.
7. An origin, beginning, or source: the rise of the novel.
8. Occasion or opportunity: facts that give rise to doubts about her motives.
9. The emergence of a fish seeking food or bait at the water's surface.
10. An increase in price, worth, quantity, or degree.
11. An increase in intensity, volume, or pitch.
12. Elevation in status, prosperity, or importance: the family's rise in New York society.
13. The height of a flight of stairs or of a single riser.
14. Chiefly British An increase in salary or wages; a raise.
15. Informal An angry or irritated reaction: finally got a rise out of her.
16. The distance between the crotch and waistband in pants, shorts, or underwear.
[Middle English risen, from Old English rīsan; see er-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: rise, ascend, climb, soar, mount1
These verbs mean to move upward from a lower to a higher elevation, position, or amount. Rise has the widest range of application: The sun rises early in the summer. Prices rise and fall. Ascend frequently suggests a gradual but persistent rise: The plane ascended steadily until it was out of sight. She ascended through the ranks to become CEO. Similarly, climb connotes steady, often effortful progress, as against gravity: "You climb up through the little grades and then get to the top" (John Updike).
Soar implies effortless and usually rapid ascent to a great height or noteworthiness: The fly ball soared out of the ballpark. The band's popularity soared after the release of the album. Mount connotes a progressive increase to a higher level: Our expenses mounted fearfully. See Also Synonyms at beginning, stem1.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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