rape

UK/ˈɹeɪ̯p/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈɹæɪ̯p/

rape noun: the act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another person, regardless of gender; by extension, any non-consensual sex act forced on or perpetrated by any being.

Noun (1)

rape (countable and uncountable, plural rapes)

The act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another person, regardless of gender; by extension, any non-consensual sex act forced on or perpetrated by any being.
- I fled; but he pursued (though more, it seems, / Inflamed with lust than rage), and, swifter far, / Me overtook, his mother, all dismayed, / And, in embraces forcible and foul / Engendering with me, of that rape begot / These yelling monsters […]1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Fred[erick]. Traytor, doſt dravv upon thy Prince? / Cur[tius]. Your Pardon Sir, I meant it on a Raviſher. / A foul miſguided Villain. / One that ſcarce merits the brave name of Man. / One that betrays his friend, forſakes his VVife; / And vvould commit a Rape upon my Miſtreſs.1671, A[phra] Behn, The Amorous Prince, or, The Curious Husband. A Comedy, […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for Thomas Dring, […], →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 37
(offensive, slang, sometimes) Overpowerment; utter defeat.
(offensive, slang, sometimes) An insult to one's senses so severe that one feels that they cannot ever be the same afterwards.
- The ear rape of that concert was so bad I can't even listen to their songs at work anymore.
(archaic) The taking of something by force; seizure, plunder.
- the Rape of Nanjing
- Ruin'd orphans of thy rapes complain.1638, George Sandys, chapter XXII, in A Paraphrase upon Job
(archaic) The abduction of a woman, especially for sexual purposes.
- Sat. Traytor, if Rome haue law, or we haue power, / Thou and thy Faction shall repent this Rape. / Bass. Rape call you it my Lord, to cease my owne, / My true betrothed Loue, and now my wife?c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- The tale of the rape of Lucretia, for example, is hardly tellable - as many Roman writers themselves discovered - without raising the question of where seduction ends and rape begins; the rape of the Sabines puts a similar question mark over the distinction between rape and marriage.2000 September 8, Mary Beard, “(please specify the article title)”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC
(obsolete) That which is snatched away.
- Where now are all my hopes? O, never more. / Shall they revive! nor death her rapes restore.1636, G[eorge] S[andys], “(please specify the page)”, in A Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David. And upon the Hymnes Dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments, London: [Andrew Hebb […]], →OCLC
(obsolete) Movement, as in snatching; haste; hurry.

Verb (1)

rape (third-person singular simple present rapes, present participle raping, simple past and past participle raped)

(transitive) To force sexual intercourse or other sexual activity upon (someone) without their consent.
- The prosecution case was that the men forced the sisters to strip, threw their clothes over the bridge, then raped them and participated in forcing them to jump into the river to their deaths. As he walked off the bridge, Clemons was alleged to have said: "We threw them off. Let's go."2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian
- "They taught us nothing but how to cheat, curse and abuse. I never killed in cold blood even if I was known as one of the most fearless fighters. Yes, I abducted several children, I robbed and beat, but I never raped."2007, Kunda: The Story of a Child Soldier, →ISBN, page 51
Synonyms:

ravish, violate, vitiate
(intransitive, transitive) To seize by force. (Now often with sexual overtones.)
- Dr Ashok's eyes had a tendency to pop whenever he wanted to rape your attention.1978, Gore Vidal, Kalki
- It is six years since my just action to reclaim the armaments raped from here by the Lairds of Dalgetty and Tolly […].1983, Alasdair Gray, “Logopandocy”, in Every Short Story 1951-2012, Canongate, published 2012, page 136
Synonyms:

loot, seize, snatch, take, apprehend, begripe, capture, fang, grasp, get
(transitive) To carry (someone, especially a woman) off against their will, especially for sex; to abduct.
- Paridell rapeth Hellenore:
  Malbecco her pursewes:
  Findes emongst Satyres, whence with him
  To turne she doth refuse.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
- A Princess rap’d transcends a Navy storm'd.1718, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, The Iliad
(transitive) To plunder, to destroy or despoil.
- I raped your richest roadstead—I plundered Singapore!1892, Rudyard Kipling, Barrack-Room Ballads
- They come out here in their perky little foreign cars, fifty pounds of American copper in each one, and tell us we're earth-raping monsters.1996, Stephen King, Desperation
Synonyms:

depredate, pillage, ransack, ravage, sack, spoliate
(offensive, slang, sometimes) To subject (another person) to a painful or unfair experience.
- I attended, the mothers went around the circle, introducing themselves. They added a brief statement about their own experiences with vaccine for the reporter’s benefit. Dionne said that she felt “raped” when she was forced to give Tate some vaccinations.2018 January 2, Samantha D. Gottlieb, “8. Mothers and Gardasil”, in Not Quite a Cancer Vaccine. Selling HPV and Cervical Cancer, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page...
1. (offensive, slang, sometimes) To overpower, destroy (someone); to trounce.
  - My experienced opponent will rape me at chess.
2. (offensive, slang, sometimes) To exploit an advantage, often involving money, where the other person has little choice but to submit.
  - Have you seen the prices in that store lately? I got raped for $20 just buying a sandwich.

Noun (2)

rape (plural rapes)

(historical) One of the six former administrative divisions of Sussex, England.
- It seems to me very clear that the rapes of Sussex were divisions already existing there when the Normans landed.1888 March 20, Henry H. Howorth, in a letter to The Archaeological Review, volume 1 (March–August 1888), page 230
- There is little, if any, doubt that the division of Sussex into six rapes had been carried out before the Conquest, though the term is not mentioned in any Old English record.1971, Frank Merry Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England

Verb (2)

rape (third-person singular simple present rapes, present participle raping, simple past and past participle raped)

(intransitive, obsolete, reflexive) To make haste; to hasten or hurry.

Noun (3)

rape (plural rapes)

(obsolete) Haste; precipitancy; a precipitate course.

Adverb

rape (comparative more rape, superlative most rape)

(obsolete) Quickly; hastily.

Noun (4)

rape (plural rape)

Synonym of rapeseed, Brassica napus.
- After the Industrial Revolution, it was discovered that rape also yields oil suitable for lubrication.2001, Bill Lambrecht, Dinner at the New Gene Café, page 231
Synonyms:

rapeseed, Brassica napus

Noun (5)

rape (countable and uncountable, plural rapes)

The stalks and husks of grapes from which the must has been expressed in winemaking.
A filter containing the stalks and husks of grapes, used for clarifying wine, vinegar, etc.
(obsolete) Fruit plucked in a bunch.
- a rape of grapes
- rape of Cistus1682, John Ray, Methodus Plantarum Nova

Proper noun capitalized: Rape

Rape (plural Rapes)

A surname.

rape meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

rape in Hindi

act of forcing sexual activity: बलात्कार balātkār, धर्षण dharṣaṇ, दुष्कर्म duṣkarm
force sexual intercourse: बलात्कार balātkār, दुष्कर्म duṣkarm

rape in Tamil

act of forcing sexual activity: கற்பழிப்பு kaṟpaḻippu
cause damage, destruction to a countryside, nature etc: அழி aḻi
force sexual intercourse: கற்பழி kaṟpaḻi

rape in Marathi

act of forcing sexual activity: बलात्कार balātkār
force sexual intercourse: बलात्कार करणे balātkār karṇe

rape in Urdu

act of forcing sexual activity: زِیَادَتِی ziyādatī, ریپ rep, عِصْمَت دَری 'ismat darī, آبْرُو ریزی ābrū rezī, جِنْسی زِیَادَتِی jinsī ziyādatī, زِنَا بِالْجَبْر zinā biljabr
force sexual intercourse: زیادتی کرنا zyādtī karnā

More languagesFewer languages

rape in Bengali: ধর্ষণ dhorśon
rape in Telugu: మానభంగం mānabhaṅgaṁ, మానభంగం చేయు mānabhaṅgaṁ cēyu
rape in Malayalam: ബലാത്സംഗം balātsaṅgaṁ
rape in Kannada: ಬಲಾತ್ಕಾರ balātkāra
rape in Punjabi: ਜਬਰ ਜ਼ਨਾਹ jabar zanāh, ਬਲਾਤਕਾਰ balātkār
rape in Gujarati: બળાત્કાર baḷātkār
rape in Odia: ବଳାତ୍କାର, ବଳାତ୍କାର କରିବା
rape in Assamese: ধৰ্ষণ dhorxon, বলাৎকাৰ bolatkar, ধৰ্ষণ কৰা dhorxon kora, বলাৎকাৰ কৰা bolatkar kora
rape in Nepali: बलात्कार, बलात्कार गर्न, बलात्कार गर्ने
rape in Tagalog: panggagahis, panggagahasa, laspagin, gahisin
rape in Arabic: اِغْتِصَاب iḡtiṣāb, اِغْتَصَبَ iḡtaṣaba, غَصَبَ ḡaṣaba
rape in Malay: rogol
rape in Indonesian: pemerkosaan, perkosaan, perogolan, rudapaksa
rape in Persian: تجاوز کردن tajâvoz kardan
rape in Thai: การข่มขืน gaan-kòm-kʉ̌ʉn, ข่มขืน kòm-kʉ̌ʉn
rape in Vietnamese: cưỡng hiếp, hiếp dâm, hãm hiếp, cưỡng dâm
rape in Myanmar: မုဒိမ်း mu.dim:
Sindhi: زوريء زنا zoria zana
Kashmiri: بےٚ صدری be sdrī, ناجأیِز کرُن nājạyiz krun

Examples of rape in a sentence

And now he knew that she was profoundly, excitingly sensual, but that the conquest of her body, because of the central privacy in her, would each time have the sweet tang of rape.1953, Ian Fleming, “Tide of Passion”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 167:
Last April the media world exploded in indignation at the rape and beating of a jogger in Central Park.1990 January 22, ‘Turning Victims into Saints’, Time:
Castor and Pollux are one set of twins birthed by Leda after her rape by Zeus in swan form; […]2013, William Butler Yeats, The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Volume XIII: A Vision: The Original 1925 Version, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
Leslie Charteris's Saint, with pablum about the rape of the dowager's emeralds, or the theft of the blueprint of the newest submarine.1959, Dorothy Parker, “Ellery Queen: The New York Murders”, in The Portable Dorothy Parker, New York: Penguin, published 1976, pages...

Synonyms of rape

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of rape

Forms of rape

Noun
plural	rapes
plural	rape
Verb
third-person singular present	rapes
present participle	raping
past participle	raped
past	raped
Adverb
comparative	more rape
superlative	most rape
Proper noun
plural	Rapes

Origin of rape

From Middle English rapen, rappen (“to abduct; ravish; seduce; rape; seize; snatch; carry off; transport”), probably from Latin rapiō (verb), possibly through or influenced by Anglo-Norman rap, rape (noun) (compare also ravish). But compare Swedish rappa (“to snatch, seize, carry off”), Low German rapen (“to snatch, seize”), Dutch rapen (“to pick up, gather, collect”); the relationship with Germanic forms is not clear. Cognate with Lithuanian reikėti (“to be in need”). Compare also rap (“seize, snatch”). Further, some senses may be from Etymology 3, an Old Norse word.

Generally considered to derive from Old English rāp (“rope”), in reference to the ropes used to delineate the courts that ruled each rape. Compare Dutch reep and the parish of Rope, Cheshire. In the 18th century, Edward Lye proposed derivation from Old Norse hreppr (“tract of land”), but this was rejected by the New English Dictionary and is considered "phonologically impossible" by the English Place-Name Society. Others, considering it improbable that the Normans would have adopted a local word, suggest derivation from Old French raper (“take by force”). See Wikipedia for more.

From Middle English rapen, from Old Norse hrapa (“to fall, rush headlong, hurry, hasten”), from Proto-Germanic *hrapaną (“to fall down”). Cognate with Norwegian rapa (“to slip, fall”), Danish rappe (“to make haste”), German rappeln (“to hasten, hurry”).

Words formed from rape

Phrases with rape

15 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with rape

21 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about rape

What does rape mean?: Rape means the act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another person, regardless of gender; by extension, any non-consensual sex act forced on or perpetrated by any being.
What is rape in Hindi?: Rape in Hindi is बलात्कार (balātkār), धर्षण (dharṣaṇ), दुष्कर्म (duṣkarm). See Rape meaning in Hindi.
How do you use rape in a sentence?: And now he knew that she was profoundly, excitingly sensual, but that the conquest of her body, because of the central privacy in her, would each time have the sweet tang of rape.
What part of speech is rape?: Rape can be a noun, a verb, an adverb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce rape?: Rape is pronounced /ˈɹeɪ̯p/ (UK).
What is the plural of rape?: The plural of rape is rapes.

Words near rape in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: rape (page history and authors); Rape (page history and authors); ಬಲಾತ್ಕಾರ (Kannada) (page history and authors); બળાત્કાર (Gujarati) (page history and authors); rape (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rape (Nepali, 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: En-au-rape.ogg.

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