rapport
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of rapport
First recorded in 1530–40; from French, derivative of rapporter “to bring back, report,” equivalent to r(e)- re- + apporter ( Old French aporter, from Latin apportāre, equivalent to ap- ap- 1 + portāre “to carry”; see port 5)
Explanation
Rapport is a good sense of understanding and trust. If you have good rapport with your neighbors, they won't mind if you kick your ball onto their property every now and then. If you have rapport with someone, you two communicate with trust and sympathy. The word is often used to mean good interaction between people in different positions or roles such as parent and teacher, teacher and student, doctor and patient, supervisor and worker, or speaker and audience. It is always important to establish rapport with people you come into contact with regularly. Pronounce this borrowed word from the French ra-POOR.
Vocabulary lists containing rapport
Grade 10, List 3
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The Hunger Games
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The Things They Carried
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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.
He dropped the persona for “The Late Show,” which required him to establish a rapport with his national audience.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
"He built a rapport with me. There was no rush," she says.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
"There's a personal rapport, because I think Charles is a very skilled diplomat," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
Do you feel easy rapport with the advisers and their support staff?
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
After making excuses, yet again, about missing the Day of Sacrifice, Antain had noticed a distinct difference in his rapport with the Elders.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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.
