raspy
AmericanOther Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of raspy
Explanation
A sound is raspy when it is rough or scratchy. If you get a bad cold or scream encouragement to a losing team for a few hours, you will end up with a raspy voice. A rasp is a tool, usually used by wood- or metal-workers, to scrape. Nail files and kitchen graters do the same work that a rasp does. A raspy voice sounds like it had to pass through a rasp or a grater to get out of your mouth. If you can barely speak, you might ask for water in a raspy whisper. Other sounds can seem raspy too like a dry cough, the caw of a crow or the bark of a dog that has been at it for a long time.
Vocabulary lists containing raspy
The Catcher in the Rye
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Orbiting Jupiter
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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.
Demonic guitar riffs churn under Căpitănescu's raspy vocals, giving the track a thrilling urgency.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
“We still have hope and we still believe,” she tells the camera in a raw, raspy voice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
If the fund industry’s equivalent to a leading man is a growth fund comprised of stocks with large market capitalizations, an active ETF would be a character actor with a raspy voice.
From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025
Like many before him in the genre, newcomer Kane Rodriguez first debuted his signature raspy vocals on TikTok, where he would upload acoustic covers of popular corridos.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2025
His voice is as deep as Granddaddy’s, a bit raspy at times, and as hard as the stuff he raps about.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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.
