raft UK /ɹɑːft/US /ɹæft/noun 10verb 4forms 3 noun10 •A flat-bottomed craft able to float and drift on water, used for transport or as a waterborne platform.They floated down the river on an inflatable raft •Any flattish thing, usually wooden, used in a similar fashion. •A large (but unspecified) number, a lot.Among those arrested was the grand master himself, Jacques de Molay, who found himself facing a raft of charges based on the specious evidence of former knights [...]. — 2007 •A thick crowd of aquatic birds, particularly a group floating on the surface of the water.Pelicans, bills stuck forward, would gather in small rafts to move along in comical formation, before diving in unison […] — 2010 •A group of aquatic mammals, especially otters and especially when visible on the surface of the water.A raft of otters at rest in the river. — 2019 •A group of alligators or crocodiles, especially when floating in water with their backs visible above the surface.She even pointed out a bank where a raft of crocodiles lay dozing, baking their scaly backs in the sun. — 2010 •(US) A collection of logs, fallen trees, etc. which obstructs navigation in a river. •A mass of congealed solids that forms on a consommé because of the protein in the egg white. •A square array of sensors forming part of a large telescope. •(US, slang) A slice of toast. verb4 •To travel by raft. •To convey on a raft. •To make into a raft. •To dock (toolbars, etc.) so that they share horizontal or vertical space.The ToolStripContainer provides built-in rafting and docking of ToolStrip, MenuStrip, and StatusStrip controls. — 2007 formsrafted · rafting · rafts
