on the raw

adverb

On exposed flesh; (chiefly figuratively), in such a way as to affect someone deeply or in a sensitive area.

First used 19th c.
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adverbon the raw (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOn exposed flesh; (chiefly figuratively), in such a way as to affect someone deeply or in a sensitive area.First known use 19th c.

    What got 'im on the raw was Tommy Hogarth going against 'im in that business.

    1926, Arnold Bennett, Lord Raingo
    1 more example

    He was developing a sense of humour, and found that he had a knack of saying bitter things, which caught people on the raw […].

    1915, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 18, in Of Human Bondage
Cite this entry
APA

on the raw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20raw

MLA

“on the raw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20raw. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the raw,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20raw.

Source: on the raw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.