rasp

American  

[rasp, rahsp] / ræsp, rɑsp /

verb (used with object)

rasps, present (3rd person singular) rasped, past participle, past rasping present participle

1. to scrape or abrade with a rough instrument.

2. to scrape or rub roughly.

   The glacier rasped the valley floor.

3. to grate upon or irritate.

   The sound rasped his nerves.

4. to utter with a grating sound.

   to rasp out an answer.

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verb (used without object)

rasps, present (3rd person singular) rasped, past participle, past rasping present participle

1. to scrape or grate.

2. to make a grating sound.

noun

1. an act of rasping.

2. a rasping sound.

3. a coarse file, used mainly on wood, having separate conical teeth.

4. (in an insect) a roughened surface used in stridulation.

rasp ¹ British  

/ rɑːsp /

noun

1. a harsh grating noise

2. a coarse file with rows of raised teeth

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verb

1. (tr) to scrape or rub (something) roughly, esp with a rasp; abrade

2. to utter with or make a harsh grating noise

3. to irritate (one's nerves or senses); grate (upon)

rasp ² British  

/ rɑːsp /

noun

1. an informal or Scot word for raspberry

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unrasped
  adjective
• rasper
  noun
• raspish
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have rasped
  perfect
• has rasped
  perfect 3rd person singular
• are rasping
  progressive
• has been rasping
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been rasping
  perfect progressive
• is rasping
  progressive 3rd person singular
• rasps
  singular 3rd person
• am rasping
  progressive 1st person singular
• rasping
  participle

Past

• had rasped
  perfect
• were rasping
  progressive plural
• was rasping
  progressive singular
• had been rasping
  perfect progressive
• rasped
  participle
• rasped
  simple

Future

• will rasp
  simple
• will have rasped
  perfect
• will have been rasping
  perfect progressive
• will be rasping
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of rasp

1200–50; Middle English raspen < Old French rasper to scrape, grate < Germanic; see rape ³

Explanation

When you rasp, you either file wood with a metal tool, or you speak in a harsh, irritating voice. Your rasp-y voice might get you a gig as a lounge singer, but probably not as a preschool teacher. The tool called a rasp is a special kind of wood file that's much coarser than sandpaper, and when you use it, you rasp. If you've ever cared for a horse's hooves, you may have also used a rasp to file them. The "speak gratingly" meaning of rasp comes from the "scraping" sense of the word. If your voice sounds like a rasp against a rough surface, you're rasping.

Example Sentences

“I’m pretty sure every group is working on that,” Rasp says.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 14, 2023

Rasp, at Heroes, said the strict social distancing requirements inside his sports bar limits the number of revelers who typically stop into his establishment during Carnival.

From Washington Times • Jan. 31, 2021

“I still think that it’s probably several years before there’s enough groundswell,” says Jeff Rasp, director of U.S. consumer-health digital strategy at Bayer, which has tested Amino’s “Lens” solution to track its ad spending.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2018

The judge in the case ultimately denied any consideration of Max the parrot’s words and Gary Rasp was ultimately convicted, and is serving a life sentence.

From The Guardian • Jun. 27, 2016

This all was executed with utmost Silence; orders being given in a Rasp; even Grunts muffled.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson