jap

/d͡ʒæp/

jap verb: to carry out a sneak attack upon (something or somebody).

Verb (1)

jap (third-person singular simple present japs, present participle japping, simple past and past participle japped)

(Canada, US, ethnic, slang, slur, transitive) To carry out a sneak attack upon (something or somebody).

Verb (2)

jap (third-person singular simple present japs, present participle japping, simple past and past participle japped)

(Northern Ireland, Scotland, transitive) (of a liquid) To spatter or splash over a surface.
- […] the yelp of the girl as the hot water japped her legs. I The big fellow bore me across the kitchen.1947, The Bell, volume 15, page 38
- The oilcloth on the kitchen table / an olive green thing - retro surface / japped with little bits of water / or if you like with bits 'v watter / […]2012, Tom Paulin, Love's Bonfire

Proper noun capitalized: Jap

Jap

(dated, ethnic, offensive, slang, slur) The Japanese language.
- He petered out under Pitty's savage look: Do you speak Jap? Do you understand the world from inside those bastards' slanty-eyed little head-lopping poem-writing minds?2007, Les A. Murray, Fredy Neptune, page 239
- He said it in Japanese, which surprised the boy and stunned Cullen.
  “You speak Jap?” asked Cullen.
  “Looks like it, doesn't it?”2012, Robert Conroy, Rising Sun
(Australia, Hong-Kong, Singapore, abbreviation, clipping, informal) Clipping of Japanese.

Noun (1) capitalized: Jap

Jap (plural Japs)

(US, derogatory, ethnic, slur) A Japanese person.
- Among our Japs on board are two returning from Italy, where they have been with silk-worms' eggs, on cards, to sell. This has become a great speculation, and the Japs are going into it with zeal. The Japs almost always—always when they can—take cabin passages ; the Chinese seldom, or never.1872, James Brooks, A Seven Months' Run, Up, Down, Around the World
Synonyms:

Japanese, Nip
(derogatory, historical) An Imperial Japanese Army soldier.
- The Japs had been confident that this first and sudden land grab could be accomplished without their becoming involved in a major war, and they were right.1944, Frank Capra, 14 minutes from the start, in Why We Fight: The Battle of China
- ‘The telegram says “missing”.’
  ’Nothing about “presumed drowned”?’ Sorrel asked.
  ’Nothing.’
  ’Then he could easily be a prisoner in the hands of the Japs,’ she persisted.1944, Noel Streatfeild, Theatre Shoes

Adjective capitalized: Jap

Jap (not comparable)

(derogatory, ethnic, slur) Japanese; of or pertaining to Japan or its people.
- A soldier might grab his rifle and batter his way to the heart of some Jap position. Back home they gave him all sorts of medals but his companions dismissed him as the poor bastard who finally went Asiatic.1951, James Albert Michener, The Voice of Asia, page 6

Verb (3) capitalized: Jap

Jap (third-person singular simple present Japs, present participle Japping, simple past and past participle Japped)

Alternative letter-case form of jap.

Noun (2) capitalized: JAP

JAP

(abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Jewish-American/Jewish-Australian princess: overly materialistic and selfish young Jewish American or Australian woman.
- Eww, you've got to check out her creepy friends.. It's like these JAP actress sluts and some American Gladiators reject lunkhead!1997, Daniel Clowes, “The Norman Square”, in Ghost World, Jonathan Cape, published 2000, →ISBN, page 49
- It took only the smallest hop of the imagination to picture her as an NYU undergraduate, a well-heeled JAP who did yoga, ate only vegetables and consented quickly to anal sex.2009, Geoff Dyer, Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, Canongate, published 2015, page 212
Synonyms:

kugel
(abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Jewish-American/Jewish-Australian prince: overly materialistic and selfish young Jewish American or Australian man.

Synonyms:

bagel

jap meaning in Odia

jap in Odia

ଜପ୍ କରିବା

Synonyms of jap

Forms of jap

Verb
third-person singular present	japs
present participle	japping
past participle	japped
past	japped
alternative form	Jap
third-person singular present	Japs
present participle	Japping
past participle	Japped
past	Japped
Noun
plural	japs
plural	Japs
alternative form	J.A.P.
alternative form	jap

Origin of jap

Shortening of Japanese, in reference to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

From or related to Scots jaup, jap (“of liquid: dash, splash”).

Clipping of Japanese, attested as a noun since 1872, and adjectivally since 1878. Compare Nip (shortened from Nipponese).

Words formed from jap

Phrases with jap

Words that rhyme with jap

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about jap

What does jap mean?: Jap means to carry out a sneak attack upon (something or somebody).
What is jap in Odia?: Jap in Odia is ଜପ୍ କରିବା. See Jap meaning in Odia.
What part of speech is jap?: Jap can be a verb, a proper noun, a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce jap?: Jap is pronounced /d͡ʒæp/.
What is the past tense of jap?: The past tense of jap is japped.

Words near jap in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: jap (page history and authors); Jap (page history and authors); JAP (page history and authors); jap (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-jap.wav, En-au-Jap.ogg.

Cite this entry: “jap.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/jap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.