Showing results for "rap"

• a variation of rap music.

rap

¹ American  

[rap] / ræp /

verb (used with object)

rapped, rapping

1. to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow.

   He rapped the door with his cane.

2. to utter sharply or vigorously.

   to rap out a command.

3. (of a spirit summoned by a medium) to communicate (a message) by raps (often followed byout ).

4. Slang. to criticize sharply.

   Critics could hardly wait to rap the play.

5. Slang. to arrest, detain, or sentence for a crime.

6. Metallurgy. to jar (a pattern) loose from a sand mold.

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verb (used without object)

rapped, rapping

1. to knock smartly or lightly, especially so as to make a noise.

   to rap on a door.

2. Slang. to talk or discuss, especially freely, openly, or volubly; chat.

3. Slang. to talk rhythmically to the beat of rap music.

noun

1. a quick, smart, or light blow.

   a rap on the knuckles with a ruler.

2. the sound produced by such a blow.

   They heard a loud rap at the door.

3. Slang. blame or punishment, especially for a crime.

4. Slang. a criminal charge.

   a murder rap.

5. Slang. response, reception, or judgment.

   The product has been getting a very bad rap.

6. Slang.

   1. a talk, conversation, or discussion; chat.

   2. talk designed to impress, convince, etc.; spiel.

      a high-pressure sales rap.

7. rap music.

idioms

1. take the rap, to take the blame and punishment for a crime committed by another.

   He took the rap for the burglary.

2. beat the rap, to succeed in evading the penalty for a crime; be acquitted.

   The defendant calmly insisted that he would beat the rap.

rap ² American  

[rap] / ræp /

noun

1. the least bit; the smallest amount; jot; iota.

   I don't care a rap.

2. a counterfeit halfpenny formerly passed in Ireland.

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rap ³ American  

[rap] / ræp /

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

rapped, rapt, rapping

1. to carry off; transport.

2. to transport with rapture.

3. to seize for oneself; snatch.

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rap ¹ British  

/ ræp /

verb

1. informal a variant spelling of wrap wrap

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rap ² British  

/ ræp /

verb

1. to strike (a fist, stick, etc) against (something) with a sharp quick blow; knock

   he rapped at the door

2. (intr) to make a sharp loud sound, esp by knocking

3. (tr) to rebuke or criticize sharply

4. to put (forth) in sharp rapid speech; utter in an abrupt fashion

   to rap out orders

5. slang (intr) to talk, esp volubly

6. (intr) to perform a rhythmic monologue with a musical backing

7. to reprimand

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noun

1. a sharp quick blow or the sound produced by such a blow

2. a sharp rebuke or criticism

3. slang voluble talk; chatter

   stop your rap

4. 1. a fast, rhythmic monologue over a prerecorded instrumental track

   2. ( as modifier )

      rap music

5. slang a legal charge or case

6. slang to escape punishment or be acquitted of a crime

7. slang to suffer the consequences of a mistake, misdeed, or crime, whether guilty or not

rap ³ British  

/ ræp /

noun

1. (used with a negative) the least amount (esp in the phrase not to care a rap )

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rap Cultural  

1. A form of pop music characterized by spoken or chanted rhymed lyrics, with a syncopated, repetitive accompaniment. Rap music originated in the second half of the twentieth century in black urban communities. (See also hip-hop.)

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rap More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rap

• beat the rap
• bum rap
• not give a damn (rap)
• take the rap

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Other Word Forms

• rapping
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of rap¹

First recorded in 1300–50; 1960–65 rap ¹ for def. 8; Middle English verb rappen; akin to Swedish rappa “to beat, drub,” German rappeln “to rattle”; the senses “to talk” and “conversation, talk” are perhaps of distinct origin, though the hypothesis that these meanings are a shortening of repartee is questionable

Origin of rap²

First recorded in 1715–25; origin uncertain

Origin of rap³

First recorded in 1520–30; back formation from rapt

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Explanation

To rap is to hit something, talk, or bust into rhymes like the Fat Boys in the rap song “Human Beat Box” (1984). That’s some old school Brooklyn rap, but you can rap to any beat you want. Hit it! A rap is a knock or blow, like if you rap somebody upside the head as a gentle reminder to pay attention. The word rap also means, "reputation,” like if you get a bad rap at school for sleeping in class. It’s also "to talk at great length." And there’s the musical rap, the “genre that includes talking rhythmically over a beat.” This meaning comes from African American slang for, basically, "talking.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rap rapped rapping rapt

Students cheered as they stacked rubbish bins against the entrance to a school outside Paris, while a speaker thumped out French rap to young people, teachers and parents mingling in the early morning drizzle.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Shakur’s killing came during a fraught time in the rap world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

But bonds got a bad rap after the Federal Reserve quickly raised interest rates in 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

The vice president’s words sound good — like a rap on the knuckles of the tech billionaires who can’t stop claiming they’re building doomsday devices.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

Like any good newsman, Greeley double-checked his source by asking the spirit to also rap the corresponding number he’d written.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

In 2017, he rapped the court for dodging a California law restricting concealed-carry permits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

He rapped alongside Tupac Shakur in hip-hop groups Outlawz and Thug Life in the ’90s and continued to release music after his stepbrother’s death.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

"Undivided Nepali, this time history is being made," he rapped in a track that garnered more than two million views within hours of its release.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

The video shows that Trickett rapped several times on the door, with Zou looking on.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

Aunt Sera rapped her fingers on the table.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Newer listeners to Wolf’s alt-rock sound might be surprised to hear that in these early years, Wolf was singing, and occasionally rapping, over Billie Eilish-era bedroom pop.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

He’s like a cringeworthy successor to Poochie, the rapping dog “with an attitude” developed at the behest of pathetically uncool network-television executives in an old episode of “The Simpsons.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

So I wrote songs, I started rapping to entertain myself.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

But the nonchalance of the sapphic romance portrayed in the video for 2025’s “First Luv,” and the ferocious rapping of “Shagidi” show this is an ambitious band with influence and inventiveness, too.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

“Oh yes, she arrived the day before yesterday,” said Mrs. Weasley, rapping a large iron pot with her wand.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

At one of the season’s signature tech conferences, Huang on Tuesday held a large audience rapt discussing the positive potential of artificial intelligence with Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

In Chandler and Pierre, “Lanterns” has an extraordinary pairing that sustains enough frustration, humor, passion and regret to keep us rapt through the episodes provided for review.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Was he too rapt by his proximity to the most powerful man in the world?

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

It's now 24 years since Rhona Martin delivered the Stone of Destiny in Salt Lake City, watched by millions of rapt viewers at dark o'clock in the UK.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026

I stared at it with no less rapt attention than if it had been God Himself in a golden chariot riding overhead.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

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