rise

present singular third person rises · participle present rising · past rose · participle past risen · nonstandard participle past rised · nonstandard participle past rose · first person past singular rose · archaic present second person singular risest · past second person singular rose · archaic past second person singular rosest · present singular third person rises · archaic present singular third person riseth · past singular third person rose · past plural rose · past subjunctive rose · participle present rising

1. To move, or appear to move, physically upwards relative to the ground.
   1. intransitiveTo move upwards.

      We watched the balloon rise.

      1 more example

      Disturbed by my footsteps, the birds rose above the treetops.

      Synonyms: climb, go up

   2. intransitiveTo grow upward; to attain a certain height.

      This elm tree rises to a height of seventy feet.

   3. intransitiveTo slope upward.

      The path rises as you approach the foot of the hill.

   4. intransitiveTo appear to move upwards from behind the horizon of a planet as a result of the planet's rotation.

      The sun was rising in the East.

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      And still the hours passed, and at last I knew by the glimmer of light in the tomb above that the sun had risen again, and a maddening thirst had hold of me. And then I thought of all the barrels piled up in the vault and of the liquor that they held; and stuck not because 'twas spirit, for I would scarce have paused to sate that thirst even with molten lead.

      [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC

   5. intransitiveTo become erect; to assume an upright position.

      to rise from a chair or from a fall

   6. intransitiveTo leave one's bed; to get up.

      Yellow is the colour of my true love's hair, In the morning, when we rise

      1965, “Colours”, performed by Donovan

      Synonyms: arise

   7. figurativelyintransitiveTo be resurrected.

      he rose from the grave;   he is risen!

      Synonyms: be resurrected, come back from the dead

   8. figurativelyintransitiveTo terminate an official sitting; to adjourn.

      The committee rose after agreeing to the report.

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      It was near nine[…]before the House rose.

      1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter X, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC

2. To increase in value or standing.
   1. intransitiveTo attain a higher status.

      among the rising theologians of Germany

      1846, Julius Hare, The Mission of the Comforter

      2 more examples

      Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.

      c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

      Caesar Enrico “Rico” Bandello is a hoodlum who rises swiftly in Chicago’s mob world, in the 1931 film “Little Caesar.” Played by Edward G. Robinson, Rico is tracked down by police and shot.

      2023 August 20, Richard Galant, “Opinion: A powerful weapon for prosecutors is now in the hands of Fani Willis”, in CNN

   2. intransitiveOf a quantity, price, etc., to increase.

      1 more example

      Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.

      2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68

      Synonyms: climb

   3. intransitiveTo become more and more dignified or forcible; to increase in interest or power; said of style, thought, or discourse.

      to rise in force of expression; to rise in eloquence; a story rises in interest.

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      The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Our table in the dining-room became again the abode of scintillating wit and caustic repartee, Farrar bracing up to his old standard, and the demand for seats in the vicinity rose to an animated competition.

      1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

   4. intransitiveentertainmentTo ascend on a musical scale; to take a higher pitch.

      to rise a tone or semitone

3. To begin, to develop; to be initiated.
   1. intransitiveTo become active, effective or operational, especially in response to an external or internal stimulus.

      to rise to the occasion

      3 more examples

      Thus far, my intellect has been able to rise sufficiently to meet every academic challenge that I have encountered.

      As Patrick continued to goad me, I felt my temper rising towards the limits of my self control.

      Professor Peter Crome, chair of the audit's steering group, said the report "provides further concrete evidence that the care of patients with dementia in hospital is in need of a radical shake-up". While a few hospitals had risen to the challenge of improving patients' experiences, many have not, he said. The report recommends that all staff receive basic dementia awareness training, and staffing levels should be maintained to help such patients.

      2011 December 16, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in Guardian

   2. intransitiveTo develop, to come about or intensify.

      As hunger and despondency became more intense, a determination rose within me to find a way of getting off the desert island.

      2 more examples

      To-night the winds begin to rise ⁠And roar from yonder dropping day: ⁠The last red leaf is whirl’d away, The rooks are blown about the skies; […]

      1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 24

      The sun was hot now although the breeze was rising gently.

      1952 September 1, Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 65

   3. intransitiveTo swell or puff up in the process of fermentation; to become light.

      Has that dough risen yet?

   4. intransitiveTo have its source (in a particular place).

      The majestic Marannon, or Amazon River, rises out of the Lake Launcocha, situated in the province of Tarma, in 10° 14ʹ south latitude, and ten leagues to the north of Pasco.

      1802 December 1, “Interesting description of the Montanna Real”, in The Monthly magazine, or, British register, Number 94 (Number 5 of Volume 14), page 396

   5. intransitiveTo become perceptible to the senses (other than sight).

      a noise rose on the air; odour rises from the flower

   6. intransitiveTo become agitated, opposed, or hostile; to go to war; to take up arms; to rebel.

      At our heels all hell should rise With blackest insurrection.

      1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

      1 more example

      No more ſhall nation againſt nation riſe, / Nor ardent vvarriours meet vvith hateful eyes, […]

      1712 (date written), Alexander Pope, “Messiah. A Sacred Eclogue, in Imitation of Virgil’s Pollio.”, in The Works of Alexander Pope Esq. […], volume I, London: […] J[ohn] and P[aul] Knapton, H. Lintot, J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, and S. Draper, published 1751, →OCLC, page 40

   7. intransitiveTo come to mind; to be suggested; to occur.

      A thought rose in me, which I believe very often perplexes […]men of contemplative natures.

      1714 July 19 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, July 9, 1714”, in The Spectator, number 565; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume VI, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC

4. transitiveTo go up; to ascend; to climb.

   to rise a hill

5. transitiveTo cause to go up or ascend.

   to rise a fish, or cause it to come to the surface of the water

   2 more examples

   to rise a ship, or bring it above the horizon by approaching it

   Until we rose the bark we could not pretend to call it a chase.

   1882, William Clark Russell, My Watch Below

6. obsoleteTo retire; to give up a siege.

   He,[…] rising with small honour from Gunza,[…]was gone.

   1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC

7. To come; to offer itself.

   There chaunced to the Princes hand to rize, / An auncient booke, […]

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 59

8. datedmediaTo be lifted, or capable of being lifted, from the imposing stone without dropping any of the type; said of a form.

   One side of the form is now to be lifted from the stone just enough to allow the compositor to see whether it will rise or not but not so high as to let any loose letters drop out.

   1872, Thomas Lynch, The Printer's Manual: A Practical Guide for Compositors and Pressmen, page 134

plural rises · alternative pronunciation spelling rize

1. The process of or an action or instance of moving upwards or becoming greater.

   The rise of the tide.

   3 more examples

   There was a rise of nearly two degrees since yesterday.

   Exercise is usually accompanied by a temporary rise in blood pressure.

   The war also triggered a number of forest fires that led to a 113% rise in emissions, according to the Initiative on GHG Accounting of War.

   2025 November 20, Simmone Shah, “Ukraine to Claim $44bn in Climate Damages From Russia. Why War Is So Bad For Emissions”, in TIME, archived from the original on 08 Dec 2025

2. The process of or an action or instance of coming to prominence.

   The rise of the feminists.

   2 more examples

   The rise of the working class.

   The rise of the printing press.

3. AustraliaCanadaNew ZealandSouth AfricaUKalsoAn increase in a quantity, price, etc.
4. AustraliaCanadaIrelandUKabbreviationellipsissometimesrest of CommonwealthEllipsis of pay rise (“an increase in wage or salary”).

   The governor just gave me a rise of two pound six.

5. The amount of material extending from waist to crotch in a pair of trousers or shorts.

   The rise of his pants was so low that his tailbone was exposed.

6. The front of a diaper.
7. SussexA small hill; used chiefly in place names.
8. An area of terrain that tends upward away from the viewer, such that it conceals the region behind it; a slope.

   I went along up the bank with one eye out for pap and t'other one out for what the rise might fetch along.

   1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “Chapter VII”, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC

   1 more example

   the land rolls gently, so that, upon cresting a low rise or passing a copse of wind turbines, you suddenly spot a lot full of lorries or a complex of gigantic sheds.

   2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian

9. informalA very noticeable visible or audible reaction of a person or group.

   Making fun of their football team is one sure way to get a rise from a crowd.

   1 more example

   She really got a rise from the audience when she donned a wig and talked like the president.

10. architectureThe height of an arch or a step.

    Each step had a rise of 170 mm and a going of 250 mm.

    1 more example

    As the rise, i.e. height, of the arch decreases, the outward thrust increases.

plural rises

1. alternativeAlternative form of rice (“twig”).

plural Rises

1. A surname.