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Definition of rave verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

rave

verb
 
/reɪv/
 
/reɪv/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they rave
 
/reɪv/
 
/reɪv/
he / she / it raves
 
/reɪvz/
 
/reɪvz/
past simple raved
 
/reɪvd/
 
/reɪvd/
past participle raved
 
/reɪvd/
 
/reɪvd/
-ing form raving
 
/ˈreɪvɪŋ/
 
/ˈreɪvɪŋ/
Idioms
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  1. [intransitive, transitive] rave (about somebody/something) | + speech to talk or write about something in a very enthusiastic way
    • The critics raved about his performance in ‘Hamlet’.
    Extra Examples
    • Luke was still raving about the beauty of the desert.
    • ‘He is the best American comedian since Jack Lemmon,’ raved Newsweek.
  2. [intransitive, transitive] to shout in a loud and emotional way at somebody because you are angry with them; to talk or shout in a way that is not logical or sensible
    • rave at somebody She was shouting and raving at them.
    • My parents both raved at me.
    • He wandered the streets raving at passers-by.
    • rave on (at somebody) (about something) He was still raving on about irresponsible youngsters.
    • + speech ‘Never mind how he feels!’ Melissa raved.
    Topics Feelingsc2
  3. Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘show signs of madness’): probably from Old Northern French raver; related obscurely to (Middle) Low German reven ‘be senseless, rave’.
See rave in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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noun
 
 
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