rap sheet

American

noun

Slang.

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

rap sheet British

noun

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

Etymology

Origin of rap sheet

1955–60; rap ¹ (in the slang sense “a criminal charge”)

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.

She will get the money, but only if she agrees to her stepsister’s unusual proposal: to marry her wayward fiance, who comes from a wealthy family but also has a rap sheet.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2025

Sure, bunnies are cute, but Bugs Bunny must have a rap sheet as long as his arm.

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2025

He had a rap sheet stretching back to the 1970s, according to French regional media outlet France 3.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2025

The FBI says the rap sheet is based on fingerprint submissions from “authorized criminal justice agencies.”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 23, 2023

Yeah, that's it, rap sheets, which is such a dumb name because it makes me think of rap music, like maybe a rap sheet is what rappers write their rhymes down on.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023