- a large passerine bird, Corvus corax, having a large straight bill, long wedge-shaped tail, and black plumage: family Corvidae (crows). It has a hoarse croaking cry
- a shiny black colour
- (as adjective): raven hair
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ra•ven1 /ˈreɪvən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Birdsa very large bird having shiny black feathers and coloring and a loud, harsh call.
adj.
- shining black:raven hair.
ra•ven1
(rā′vən),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
ra′ven•like′, adj.
rav•en2 (rav′ən),USA pronunciation v.i.
v.t.
n.
Raven, The,
- Birdsany of several large, corvine birds having lustrous, black plumage and a loud, harsh call, esp. Corvus corax, of the New and Old Worlds.
- the divine culture hero and trickster of the North Pacific Coast Indians.
- (cap.) [Astron.]the constellation Corvus.
adj.
- lustrous black:raven locks of hair.
- bef. 900; Middle English; Old English hrǣfn; cognate with German Rabe, Old Norse hrafn
rav•en2 (rav′ən),USA pronunciation v.i.
- to seek plunder or prey.
- to eat or feed voraciously or greedily:to raven like an animal.
- to have a ravenous appetite.
v.t.
- to seize as spoil or prey.
- to devour voraciously.
n.
- rapine;
robbery. - plunder or prey.
- Latin rapīna rapine
- Middle French raviner, ultimately
- earlier ravine 1485–95
Raven, The,
- Literaturea lyric poem (1845) by Edgar Allan Poe.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
raven /ˈreɪvən/ n
raven /ˈrævən/ vb
- to seize or seek (plunder, prey, etc)
- to eat (something) voraciously or greedily; be ravenous in eating
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Raven /ˈreɪvən/ n
- a traditional trickster hero among the native peoples of the Canadian Pacific Northwest
'raven' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):