raspy
AmericanOther Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of raspy
Explanation
A sound is raspy when it is rough or scratchy. If you get a bad cold or scream encouragement to a losing team for a few hours, you will end up with a raspy voice. A rasp is a tool, usually used by wood- or metal-workers, to scrape. Nail files and kitchen graters do the same work that a rasp does. A raspy voice sounds like it had to pass through a rasp or a grater to get out of your mouth. If you can barely speak, you might ask for water in a raspy whisper. Other sounds can seem raspy too like a dry cough, the caw of a crow or the bark of a dog that has been at it for a long time.
Vocabulary lists containing raspy
The Catcher in the Rye
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Orbiting Jupiter
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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.
Raspy, soulful, raw and expressive, he's one of rock and roll's best interpretive singers.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2025
Raspy voiced Pierce Brosnan presented the award along with the animated Mode, who strolled onto the stage and interacted with the actor, who had recently concluded his run portraying James Bond.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2025
Raspy grunts, high-pitched mews, guttural barks and the occasional roar bellowed toward my group of hikers at Año Nuevo State Park, a remote strip of coastal bluffs about 60 miles south of San Francisco.
From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023
Raspy instrumental sounds do return at the end, but they become natural, no longer illness sonified.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2015
Raspy voices, girl groups and ghoulish spectacle were celebrated by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its 27th annual induction ceremony on Monday night at the Waldorf-Astoria’s Grand Ballroom.
From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
