raise a family — bring up children
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To take care of and support your children as they grow up, teaching them and helping them become adults.
Say it like a native
Textbook They aspire to nurture and rear their offspring.
Native They want to raise a family.
'Nurture and rear offspring' is biology-textbook; 'raise a family' is the set phrase.
Pattern: raise a family
In use
- Many people move to the suburbs because they want to raise a family in a quieter environment.family
- In my opinion, it can be challenging to raise a family while working full-time, but with good support, it is possible.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ They want to grow a family.
✓ They want to raise a family.
You RAISE a family (or 'start' one); 'grow a family' sounds off.
Common collocations
raise a family— raise a family, start a family, a good place to raise a family, bring up a family
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'start a family', which means to begin having children.