What does "rap" mean?
A sharp blow with something hard.
Rap
/ɹæp/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sharp blow with something hard.
- Grammar: rap is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: knock, rap music, tap, a continental.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, classical music, commend.
- Usage evidence: Yeah, but I'll have to take the rap if they slip up.
How to use "rap"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rap" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "rap" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "rap" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rap" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rap" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "knock" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "rap", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sharp blow with something hard. countable
"The teacher sat at one end of the bench, with a meek little fellow by his side. When the others were disorderly, this young martyr received a rap; intended, probably, as a sample of what the rest might expect, if they didn't amend."
- 2 A lea or skein of yarn that forms the standard length taken from the reel, 80 yards of worsted or 120 yards of silk or cotton.
"[…] and that every hank or skein that shall be used as a binder to tie up or bind together any pound or parcel of yarn shall contain the same number of threads in a rap or lea, and the same number of raps or leas as the other hanks or skeins in the said pound or parcel."
- 3 Any of the tokens that passed current for a halfpenny in Ireland in the early part of the eighteenth century; any coin of trifling value. historical
"Many counterfeits passed about under the name of raps."
- 4 Acronym of record of arrest and prosecution. US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 5 recognized air picture
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 the act of hitting vigorously wordnet
- 7 The blame for something. countable, slang, uncountable, with-definite-article
"You can't act irresponsibly and then expect me to take the rap."
- 8 A whit; a jot.
"I don't care a rap."
- 9 A charge, whether or not it results in a conviction. countable, slang
"We got one maybe ID, but when we checked, we found out the suspect's been in Rikers for a year on a drug rap."
- 10 Initialism of retirement annuity plan. UK, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 11 a reproach for some lapse or misdeed wordnet
- 12 A casual talk. countable, informal, uncountable
"Clearspace is holding a bisexuality rap at the center, 485 Mass Ave. 7:30pm. Topic of discussion will be femininity and masculinity."
- 13 Acronym of record of arrest and prosecution. US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 14 genre of African-American music of the 1980s and 1990s in which rhyming lyrics are chanted to a musical accompaniment; several forms of rap have emerged wordnet
- 15 Rap music. uncountable
"They like listening to rap."
- 16 voluble conversation wordnet
- 17 A song, verse, or instance of singing in the style of rap music. countable, uncountable
- 18 the sound made by a gentle blow wordnet
- 19 An appraisal. Australia, countable, informal, uncountable
"a good/great/bad rap"
- 20 a gentle blow wordnet
- 21 A positive appraisal; a recommendation. Australia, countable, informal, uncountable
"He gave the novel quite a rap."
Verb
- 1 To strike something sharply with one's knuckles; knock. intransitive
"While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, / As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door."
- 2 To seize and carry off. transitive
- 3 to rappel
- 4 talk volubly wordnet
- 5 To strike with a quick blow; to knock on. dated, transitive
"With one great peal they rap the door."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 To transport out of oneself; to affect with rapture. transitive
- 7 strike sharply wordnet
- 8 To free (a pattern) in a mould by light blows on the pattern, so as to facilitate its removal.
- 9 perform rap music wordnet
- 10 To utter quickly and sharply.
"The sergeant rapped out a word of command to the troops."
- 11 make light, repeated taps on a surface wordnet
- 12 To speak (lyrics) in the style of rap music. ambitransitive
"He started to rap after listening to Tupac."
- 13 To talk casually; to engage in conversation. informal, intransitive
"Three languages rapped, fumbled or rumblingly oozed all the while."
Proper Noun
- 1 The Rapaport Diamond Report, the diamond industry standard for the pricing of diamonds. attributive, slang
"He makes good sense. However, I must comment on "CSO prices rough diamonds to its sightholders based on the Rap List." It does not. It doesn't use the list."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Yeah, but I'll have to take the rap if they slip up."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rap"?
Common synonyms include: knock, rap music, tap, a continental, a curse, a damn.
How do you use "rap" in a sentence?
Yeah, but I'll have to take the rap if they slip up.
How do you pronounce "rap"?
Pronounced /ɹæp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English rap, rappe, of North Germanic origin, related to Norwegian rapp (“a blow, strike, lash”), Swedish rapp (“a blow, lash, crack”), Danish rap (“a tap, smart, blow”). Compare Old English hreppan (“to touch, treat”). More at rape.
Etymology 2
From Middle English rappen, of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish rappa (“to strike, beat, rap”), German rappeln (“to rattle”).
Etymology 3
Uncertain.
Etymology 4
Perhaps contracted from rapparee.
Etymology 5
From RAP (“record of arrest and prosecution”).