Meaning & use
raising capital
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Meaning
phrasefixed phrasebusinessfinance
Collecting money for a business, from investors, lenders or the public, to fund its start-up or growth.
Grammar: Verb phrase; the verb 'raise' changes form: they raised capital, they are raising capital.
Patterns
- raising capital for something
- raising capital from someone
The start-up spent six months raising capital before it could hire any staff.
Raising capital through a share sale let the airline buy new planes.
Small firms often struggle with raising capital during a recession.
Word forms
| base form | raise capital |
|---|---|
| past tense | raised capital |
Common combinations
- difficulty raising capital
- The founders had difficulty raising capital in the first year.
- raising capital from investors
- Raising capital from investors meant giving up part of the company.
- raising capital through shares
- Raising capital through shares can dilute existing owners.
- raising capital to expand
- The bakery is raising capital to expand into a second shop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fundraising
- Fundraising is broader and includes charities and donations, while raising capital is mainly about funding a business.
- financing
- Financing covers any way of paying for something, including loans, whereas raising capital stresses gathering the money.
- securing investment
- Securing investment suggests a successful result from investors, while raising capital describes the whole effort.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: raising capital or raising?
raising capital vs raising
Raising needs an object (raising capital); do not confuse it with rising, which has none: prices are rising.
Practice
The company is currently ______ capital by selling new shares.
Choose one answer.
Raising capital is a transitive action with capital as the object. Rising has no object, so it cannot take capital.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “raising capital”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.