Word.ws English Dictionary

rasta

/ˈɹæs.tə/

rasta noun: rastafarian. Also the diminutive of rastaquouère.

Noun (1)

rasta (plural rastas)

  1. (informal) Rastafarian

Proper noun capitalized: Rasta

Rasta

  1. Rastafari.
    Synonyms:
    Rastafarianism

Noun (2) capitalized: Rasta

Rasta (plural Rastas)

  1. A Rastafarian.
    • Yet in adopting this oppositional belief system and alternative lifestyle, the Rastas faced severe social ostracism.2000, Norman C. Stolzoff, Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica, Durham, N.C.; London: Duke University Press, published 2002, →ISBN, page 79
    • Second, the perceived lack of militancy on the part of Rastas may also indicate the extent to which Rastafari has become a familiar presence on Jamaica’s social scene.2003, Ennis Barrington Edmonds, Rastafari: From Outcasts to Culture Bearers, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 124

Adjective capitalized: Rasta

Rasta (not comparable)

  1. Rastafarian.
    • “You know my boyfriend has divine dreads. He’s Rasta. And he speaks fluent Jamaican patois,” she ended proudly.2005, Jackee Budesta Batanda, “Life Sucks… Sometimes”, in Seventh Street Alchemy: A Selection of Works from the Caine Prize for African Writing, Johannesburg: Jacana Media, →ISBN, “African Writers’...
    • “You don’t hafi dread to be Rasta,” as the song by Morgan Heritage says. Many people who have Rasta leanings don’t always wear dreads but support the faith in other ways. Those who wear locks but aren’t Rasta are looked down on as imposters […]2011, Nick Davis, “Rastafari”, in Jamaica (Culture Smart! The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture), London: Kuperard, →ISBN, chapter 3 (Customs and Traditions), page 60

Also used as

rasta is also the diminutive of rastaquouère.

Synonyms of rasta

Forms of rasta

pluralrastas
pluralRastas

Origin of rasta

Short for Rastafarian or Rastafari.

Clipping of Rastafari.

Words formed from rasta

Phrases with rasta

Words that rhyme with rasta

Questions about rasta

What does rasta mean?
Rasta means rastafarian.
What part of speech is rasta?
Rasta can be a noun, a proper noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce rasta?
Rasta is pronounced /ˈɹæs.tə/.
What is the plural of rasta?
The plural of rasta is rastas.

Words near rasta in the dictionary

  1. rassling
  2. rassolnik
  3. rassolniks
  4. rassophore
  5. RAST
  6. rasta
  7. rasta hat
  8. rasta hats
  9. rasta roko
  10. rasta rokos
  11. Rastaban

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rasta (page history and authors); Rasta (page history and authors). 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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-rasta.wav.

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