raising Cain

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“And had any of those known about it, they should’ve been raising Cain, because of the threats to the astronauts and cosmonauts on the space station,” he said.

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2021

Two, raising Cain in a contemporary noir also means paying respect to the female pioneers of the genre — among them Patricia Highsmith and Vera Caspary, who deserve their fair share of recognition and acclaim.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2018

I hope that people aren’t raising Cain for the sake of raising hell.

From Washington Times • Sep. 7, 2015

Last Feb. 5, Deputy Sheriff Jerry Combs threatened to arrest Brown Howard and his brother Tom, who were raising Cain at a relief office in Jackson, the county seat.

From Time Magazine Archive

If a bunch of us went charging at ’em whooping and raising Cain they might disappear back into the forest for another two, three days.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis