Definition of "raft" []

• A flat structure, typically made of planks, logs, or barrels, that floats on water and is used for transport or as a platform for swimmers. (noun)
• A flatbottom inflatable craft for floating or drifting on water: shooting the rapids in a rubber raft. (noun)
• To convey on a raft. (verb-transitive)
• To make into a raft. (verb-transitive)
• To travel by raft. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Horror of Horrors -- capital H's -- to both Horrors -- instead of leading me to the 'cradle,' which I called a raft, he took me to a little square board held up by two crossed iron arms, called a 'buggy.'"
• "The sheer beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert and the power of the river work their magicuntil the raft is lost in the rapids and a young college student falls overboard, resulting in an even more grisly discovery."
• "On February 1, 1966 the four-man life raft from the aircraft was found off the coast of North Vietnam approximately 152 miles from the last known position of the aircraft."