Showing results for "rasping"

• present participle of rasp.

rasping

American  

[ras-ping, rah-sping] / ˈræs pɪŋ, ˈrɑ spɪŋ /

adjective

1. harsh; grating.

   a rasping voice.

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noun

1. a tiny piece of material removed by rasping or scraping.

   raspings of sawed wood.

2. Cooking. raspings, dry breadcrumbs.

rasping British  

/ ˈrɑːspɪ, ˈrɑːspɪŋ /

adjective

1. (esp of a noise) harsh or grating; rough

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Other Word Forms

• raspingness
  noun
• unrasping
  adjective
• raspingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of rasping

First recorded in 1650–60; rasp + -ing ², -ing ¹

Explanation

Something that's rasping has a harsh, scratchy sound. If your old car's rasping engine gets even louder, you might want to take it to a mechanic. You'll most often find the adjective rasping describing someone's voice: "His rasping singing voice accompanied the choir," or "I was so thirsty after the hike that i could only make a dry, rasping sound when I tried to talk." To rasp means to scrape, from the Old French verb rasper, or "to grate."

Related Words

• gravelly
• gruff
• guttural
• hoarse
• raspy