raw
raw — noun
1. a small area of skin or flesh that is sore and exposed because the surface layer
a small area of skin or flesh that is sore and exposed because the surface layer has been scraped, worn, or rubbed off.
Vikram bandaged the raw on his heel where the new boot had rubbed for hours.
the raw + on + [body part] for a sore patch of exposed skin
The nurse gently dabbed antiseptic onto the raw above Sofia's elbow.
the raw + above/below + [body part]
After two days of rowing, Ezra had a raw on each palm that stung in cold water.
indefinite 'a raw' + on + body part
Kwame winced as the salty sea air touched the raw on his sunburnt shoulder.
- the raw on [body part]
- dab/clean the raw
- open raw
Grammar Patterns
the raw on [body part]
Usage Note
Rarely used as a noun in modern English; the adjective use ('a raw patch', 'raw skin') is far more common. When the noun does appear, it almost always names a small, painful area of broken or scraped skin and takes the definite article 'the'.
Common Mistakes
in the raw
idiomshowing something in its honest, undisguised form without any softening — or, informally, with no clothes on.
The documentary shows life on the trawler in the raw, including the long, freezing nights.
Chiara was shocked to find her flatmate sunbathing in the raw on the balcony.
a raw deal
idioman unfair situation in which someone is treated worse than other people in the same position.
Part-time workers at the warehouse got a raw deal — half the pay and no sick leave.
Lien felt she had been given a raw deal when her teammate took credit for her report.
raw — adjective
1. describing food, especially meat, fish, or vegetables, that has not been heated
describing food, especially meat, fish, or vegetables, that has not been heated on a stove or in an oven before being served.
Sofia loves Japanese sushi made with raw salmon and tuna.
raw + [food noun] (meat / fish)
The chef warned us never to feed raw chicken to the dog.
raw + [food noun] (meat)
Madison prefers her carrots raw rather than boiled in soup.
predicative: prefer + [food] + raw
These eggs are still raw, so please cook them for ten minutes.
be + raw
Many salad recipes use raw spinach, cucumber, and red onion.
- raw fish
- raw meat
- raw chicken
- raw vegetables
- eat something raw
Grammar Patterns
raw + [food noun]
be + raw
Usage Note
Almost always used of foods that COULD be cooked but haven't been. We don't normally call an apple 'raw' because apples are usually eaten without cooking; we say 'raw' when cooking is the expected default.
Common Mistakes
2. describing a substance such as cotton, oil, sugar, or wood that comes straight f
describing a substance such as cotton, oil, sugar, or wood that comes straight from nature and has not yet been treated, refined, or made into a finished product.
The factory in Vietnam turns raw cotton into soft white T-shirts.
raw + [substance noun] (industrial input)
Saudi Arabia ships huge amounts of raw oil to refineries in Asia.
raw + [substance noun]
Ayana melted raw sugar in a pan to make caramel for the cake.
raw sugar (collocation)
The carpenter chose raw oak for the table, with no paint or polish.
raw + [wood / material]
- raw materials
- raw cotton
- raw silk
- raw sugar
- raw timber
- unprocessed
more technical, common in business and trade contexts
- crude
specifically of oil and minerals before refining
- natural
broader; includes many things that are not industrial inputs
Grammar Patterns
raw + [substance noun]
Usage Note
Subject is usually an industrial input (cotton, wool, oil, timber, sugar, silk). The fixed phrase 'raw materials' is by far the most common form and refers to all the basic substances a factory needs.
3. describing numbers or information that have just been gathered and not yet been
describing numbers or information that have just been gathered and not yet been sorted, summarised, or examined to find patterns or meaning.
Nadia spent the weekend cleaning raw survey data on a spreadsheet.
raw + data (most common pairing)
The scientists posted the raw measurements online before writing the paper.
raw + [information noun]
Halvor, the government statistician, struggled to spot voting trends in the raw numbers from last week's election.
raw numbers (collocation)
Talia downloaded the raw video footage and edited it into a short film.
raw footage (collocation)
- raw data
- raw figures
- raw footage
- raw results
- unprocessed
common in technical and academic writing
- unanalysed
more formal; emphasises that no study has been done yet
- summarised
of figures put into clear tables or charts
Grammar Patterns
raw + [data / information noun]
Usage Note
Most common with 'data', 'numbers', 'figures', 'footage', and 'results'. Distinguish from sense 2 (UNPROCESSED MATERIAL): sense 2 is about physical substances; sense 3 is about information.
4. describing someone who has only just started a job or activity and so still lack
describing someone who has only just started a job or activity and so still lacks the skills and confidence that come from real practice.
Yumi was a raw beginner the first time she stepped onto the tennis court.
raw beginner (fixed collocation)
The army is sending raw recruits to a six-week camp in the mountains.
raw recruits (fixed collocation)
Most of the kitchen staff are raw, so the head chef trains them every morning.
predicative: be + raw
Élise joined the orchestra raw, but after a year she became its lead violinist.
be + raw (predicative, of a person)
- raw recruit
- raw beginner
- raw talent
- inexperienced
more neutral, works for any age and any context
- green
informal, very similar in meaning
- untrained
focuses on lack of formal teaching
- seasoned
implies many years of practice
Grammar Patterns
raw + [person noun]
raw recruit
Usage Note
Strongly favours the fixed collocations 'raw recruit' and 'raw beginner'. Often appears alongside a hint of promise — the person is unskilled now but expected to improve.
Common Mistakes
5. describing a feeling such as anger, fear, or grief that is so strong and direct
describing a feeling such as anger, fear, or grief that is so strong and direct that the person showing it cannot easily hold it back or hide it.
Meera could hear the raw anger in her father's voice on the phone.
raw + [emotion noun] (anger)
Months after the funeral, Kofi's grief was still raw and he cried at small things like an old photograph.
predicative: be + raw (of grief)
The crowd cheered with raw excitement when the home team scored.
raw excitement (collocation)
Iris stared at the message, her face full of raw fear.
raw fear (collocation)
- raw emotion
- raw anger
- raw grief
- raw energy
- raw fear
Grammar Patterns
raw + [emotion noun]
Usage Note
Pairs strongly with negative or intense feelings: anger, grief, fear, pain, emotion, energy. Distinguish from sense 6 (HONEST WRITING): this sense applies to feelings inside a person, while sense 6 applies to a piece of writing or art.
6. describing a book, film, or other work that tells the truth about a difficult su
describing a book, film, or other work that tells the truth about a difficult subject in a direct way, without softening painful or ugly details for the reader or viewer.
Emre's memoir gives a raw account of his years in the refugee camp.
raw account / raw + [text noun]
Critics called the documentary raw and praised its honesty about poverty.
predicative: be + raw (of art)
Christopher writes raw poems about the loss of his mother and sister.
raw + [text noun] (poems)
The play offers a raw portrait of life in a busy Taipei hospital.
raw portrait (collocation)
- raw account
- raw portrait
- raw memoir
- raw honesty
- unflinching
literary; emphasises that the work refuses to look away
- candid
more general; about openness rather than artistic effect
- stark
stresses bare, unsoftened presentation
Grammar Patterns
raw + [text / film noun]
Usage Note
Subject is usually a creative work (memoir, novel, film, song, poem) or a portrayal within one. Often appears with positive review words like 'honest', 'powerful', 'unflinching' — the bluntness is treated as a quality, not a fault.
7. describes a patch of skin or flesh that has been rubbed, scraped, or damaged so
describes a patch of skin or flesh that has been rubbed, scraped, or damaged so that it feels sore and looks red — for example, a blistered heel after a long hike or chapped lips in winter.
After hiking in new boots all day, Sora's heels were red and raw.
predicative use describing damaged skin
The baby's skin was raw from wearing a wet diaper too long.
raw from + cause of irritation
Wren scrubbed her hands so often at the clinic that the knuckles felt raw and stung in the cold air.
Aaron's lips were chapped and raw after the ski trip.
attributive: raw + body part after damage
- rub something raw
- raw skin
- raw patch
- raw and red
- healed
after the skin recovers
Usage Note
Subject is almost always a body part (skin, hands, lips, throat, knees) or a wound area. Frequently appears in the pattern 'raw from + cause' (raw from rubbing, raw from cold).
Common Mistakes
8. describes weather or air that is bitingly cold and often damp, the kind that cut
describes weather or air that is bitingly cold and often damp, the kind that cuts through your coat and makes your face and hands ache — typical of grey winter mornings rather than a crisp dry frost.
A raw February wind blew off the harbour and stung Asher's cheeks.
attributive: raw + wind / morning / day
It was a raw, grey morning in Glasgow, with rain hanging in the air.
raw paired with grey or wet for damp-cold scenes
Minh pulled his scarf tighter against the raw cold of the train platform.
The fishermen worked through raw weather all winter, hands numb inside their gloves.
- raw wind
- raw morning
- raw weather
- raw cold
Usage Note
Distinguish from sense 1 of 'cold': 'raw' adds a sense of dampness, grey skies, and biting wind, not just a low temperature. A clear, sunny day at minus ten can be 'cold' but not 'raw'.
Common Mistakes
9. used about treatment, a verdict, or a judgement that is harshly unfair — for exa
used about treatment, a verdict, or a judgement that is harshly unfair — for example, being sacked without warning after years of loyal service, or losing a final because of a bad referee call.
Ravindra felt he had been given a raw deal when the company sacked him without notice.
fixed phrase: a raw deal = unfair treatment
The visiting team got a raw deal from the referee's last call in front of forty thousand fans.
fixed phrase: get a raw deal = receive unfair treatment
Younger workers often get a raw deal when overtime hours are handed out.
passive-style: get / be given a raw deal
Ife thought it was raw treatment to be passed over for promotion after leading the project for two years.
- a raw deal
- raw treatment
- get a raw deal
- give somebody a raw deal
Usage Note
Strongly collocates with 'deal' — 'a raw deal' is the most common form by far. Outside that fixed phrase, 'raw' in this sense (raw treatment, a raw decision) sounds slightly old-fashioned or journalistic.
Common Mistakes
10. with no clothes on at all — used as a casual, slightly humorous way of saying na
with no clothes on at all — used as a casual, slightly humorous way of saying naked, especially in fixed expressions like 'in the raw'.
Manuela likes to swim in the raw at her cabin, where no neighbours can see her.
fixed phrase: in the raw = naked
The painter prefers to sketch his models in the raw rather than in costume.
Layla walked in on her brother dancing in the raw to an old pop song.
informal, often humorous register
After the sauna, the older men sat around chatting in the raw, completely at ease.
- in the raw
- swim in the raw
- sleep in the raw
Usage Note
Almost always appears in the fixed phrase 'in the raw'. Predicative 'he was raw' to mean 'naked' is very rare and would confuse readers — use 'naked' or 'in the raw' instead.
Common Mistakes
a raw deal
idiomA situation where someone is treated in an unfair or unjust way.
Mia felt she got a raw deal when her boss ignored her promotion request.
Did the workers receive a raw deal when the company cut their benefits?
Word family
- rawnessnounC1
- rawlyadverbC2
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
All five words can describe food before or during cooking, but they highlight different angles. 'Raw' is the everyday choice for food that has had no heat at all — sushi, salad, a beef carpaccio — and is by far the most common word a learner needs. 'Uncooked' is a more neutral, technical synonym that turns up on packaging, in food-safety warnings, and in recipes ('add the uncooked rice to the boiling water'); it sounds slightly less vivid than 'raw'. 'Fresh' shifts the focus from heat to time: fresh fish was caught recently, but it might still be cooked or raw. 'Underdone' and 'rare' apply only to food that HAS been cooked but not fully — 'rare' is positive when ordering steak ('I'd like my steak rare'), while 'underdone' is usually a complaint ('this chicken is underdone, please cook it longer'). So: raw = no heat at all; uncooked = the same idea in neutral or written register; rare/underdone = partly cooked.
Common collocations
Nouns
- raw materials
- raw data
- raw fish
- raw meat
- raw cotton
- raw sugar
- raw silk
- raw recruit
- raw beginner
- raw talent
- raw emotion
- raw deal
- raw nerve
Adverbs
- completely raw
- still raw
- slightly raw
- almost raw
Phrases
- in the raw
- touch a raw nerve
- get a raw deal
- give somebody a raw deal
- rub somebody raw
- raw and red
Prepositions
- raw from
- raw with
Etymology
'Raw' comes from Old English 'hrēaw', meaning uncooked, and goes back to a common Germanic root shared with Dutch 'rauw' and German 'roh', all carrying the basic idea of 'in its natural state, not yet treated by heat'. From the early sense of uncooked meat, the word slowly stretched in two directions over the centuries — outward to materials that have not been refined ('raw cotton', 'raw oil') and to information that has not been processed ('raw data'), and inward to people and feelings that are exposed and unprotected ('a raw recruit', 'raw grief', 'skin rubbed raw'). The shared thread across every modern sense is still 'in its first, untreated state'.