rap sheet

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noun Slang.

a record kept by law-enforcement authorities of a person's arrests and convictions.

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Origin of rap sheet

1955–60; rap¹ (in the slang sense “a criminal charge”)

Words nearby rap sheet

rapport, rapporteur, rapprochement, rapscallion, rap session, rap sheet, rap someone's knuckles, rapt, raptor, raptorial, rapture

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rap sheet in a sentence

The countless misconduct claims have earned Bosque state-wide attention, including a 2011 exposé by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that stated his personnel file was more like “a rap sheet than a résumé.”
‘Florida’s Worst Cop’ Was Just Fired for Misconduct—for the Seventh Time|Pilar Melendez|May 28, 2021|The Daily Beast
Russ Shorto, for whom his grandson is named, had a long rap sheet and controlled a lucrative illegal gambling enterprise for years with his partner and brother-in-law “Little Joe” Regino.
He knew his grandfather was a mob boss. But was that the whole story?|Joe Heim|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Pitchfork called him a “a rap-obsessed misfit from a summer camp who freestyles poorly” who is “ridiculous without knowing it.”
The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’|Marlow Stern|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Poor Steve Scalise is getting a bad rap,” Knight, a long-time aide to former KKK leader David Duke, told The Daily Beast.
GOP Boss Gets Help From ‘White Hate’ Pal|Tim Mak|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And there are those who still have misgivings about exactly what “Christian rap” means.
Down With the King: Christianity Isn’t Hiding in Rap’s Closet|Stereo Williams|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Communist Party of China gets a bad rap for cracking down on religion.
The Buddhist Business of Poaching Animals for Good Karma|Brendon Hong|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Divide batter into prepared ramekins, place ramekins on a baking sheet, and bake about 20 minutes.
Make ‘The Chew’s’ Carla Hall’s Sticky Toffee Pudding|Carla Hall|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If you use it wisely, it may be Ulysses' hauberk; if you reject it, the shirt of Nessus were a cooler winding-sheet!
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The Professor took his pen and wrote a large X upon the sheet of paper in front of him.
Uncanny Tales|Various
Instead of a cloth, on each table was a sheet of fine glazed paper which had the appearance of oiled silk.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
He was in the midst of his reflections when there came a rap at his door, which the next moment was flung open.
Confidence|Henry James
"All they can rap and run for" is the more frequent colloquial version of this quaint phrase.
Notes and Queries, Number 177, March 19, 1853|Various

British Dictionary definitions for rap sheet

rap sheet

noun

mainly US and Canadian informal a police record of an individual's criminal history

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012