Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use rap in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Rap means a sharp blow with something hard. Example: “You can't act irresponsibly and then expect me to take the rap.”

Examples of rap by meaning

nounA sharp blow with something hard.

  • He walked softly up the sanded path, tiptoed up the steps and across the piazza, and rapped at the front door, not too loudly, lest this too might attract the attention of the man across the street.1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter II, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company...
  • The author (obviously a naturalist of no mean order) received an official rap over the knuckles for trespassing, and for encouraging others to do so.1950 March, Eric S. Tonks, “The Whitacre—Hampton-in-Arden Line, L.M.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 187

nounThe blame for something, a reprimand, censure, or a legal sentence to serve in prison.

  • You can't act irresponsibly and then expect me to take the rap.

nounA casual talk.

  • Clearspace is holding a bisexuality rap at the center, 485 Mass Ave. 7:30pm.1979 April 14, “Calendar”, in Gay Community News, page 16

nounRap music.

  • They like listening to rap.

nounA positive appraisal; a recommendation.

  • He gave the novel quite a rap.

verbTo strike something sharply with one's knuckles; knock.

  • There was no response to his rap.1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter II, in The House Behind the Cedars

verbTo strike with a quick blow; to knock on.

  • But I noticed, also, whenever one, with a show of fight, tried to break past, that her eyes glinted and showed bright, and she rapped it smartly with her club.1904, Jack London, chapter 30, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC

verbTo utter quickly and sharply.

  • The sergeant rapped out a word of command to the troops.

More sentences with rap

  • She disapproves of rap music because of its sometimes aggressive lyrics.From the entry disapprove
  • Brussels sprouts get a bad rap: many kids hate them before they ever taste them.From the entry bad rap
  • Just rap your knuckles on the wall when you're ready to go.From the entry rap someone's knuckles
  • If the sales department doesn't get organized soon, the CEO is going to rap their knuckles.From the entry rap someone's knuckles
  • He has several DUIs on his rap sheet.From the entry dui
  • Many older adults find rap music unlistenable.From the entry unlistenable
  • Some rap music bestows a herolike status on drug dealers.From the entry herolike
  • I rapped on the panels of the knobless door.From the entry knobless
  • Yo, twin, lemme rap at ya.From the entry twin
  • Dungeon rap is a new hybrid style of hip-hop created by Yatsun.2023 July 12, Daniel Dylan Wray, “‘I don’t believe in the idea of a future’: the Ukrainian producer who invented dungeon rap”, in The…. From the entry Memphis rap
  • His application included a copy of his rap sheet; he was hired immediately.2022 May 26, Matthew Wolfe, “The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry rap sheet
  • Perhaps for them, the Kiwi Starfruit Refresher had a bad rap.2022 May 3, A. C. Grimes, “Starbucks Baristas Are Celebrating The Possible Demise Of The 'Battery Acid' Refresher”, in Mashed. From the entry grave-dancy
  • "You can always beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride.2022, Peter Farris, The Devil Himself: A Novel, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN. From the entry you can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride
  • There was an exciting proliferation of punk rap, mumble rap, emo rap and trap-influenced SoundCloud artists.2020, Adrian Besley, Billie Eilish: From e-girl to Icon, Michael O'Mara Books, →ISBN. From the entry mumble rap
  • After the game we will rap about getting you down to the gym so we can work.2018, DeMarcus Rogers, Chasing Faith, page 100. From the entry aite
  • Derided by some, artists such as Future and Migos have been wildly successful mumble rap artists.2018, Nick J. Sciullo, Communicating Hip-Hop: How Hip-Hop Culture Shapes Popular Culture, page 40. From the entry mumble rap
  • Backpack rap is often synonymous with underground rap, in which the focus is on lyrical craft.2018, Michael Berry, Listening to Rap: An Introduction. From the entry backpack rap
  • I'm a night-stalking, crime-fighting vigilante, and a heavy metal rapping machine.2017, The Lego Batman Movie. From the entry 24/7/365
  • We built an interim anchor and Mike rapped down to Jeff.2016, American Alpine Club, Accidents: In North American Climbing 2016. From the entry rap down
  • A hyperracial reality becomes blaringly evident when exploring U.S. popular culture, and more specifically, rap music.2016, James Braxton Peterson, Hip Hop Headphones: A Scholar’s Critical Playlist, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN, page 120. From the entry hyperracial
  • I can beat the rap, but I am going to end with a million-dollar ride.2015 March 25, United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the…. From the entry you can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride
  • An officious Cecaelia rapped the floor of the platform sternly and called the court to order.2014, Jolie Jaquinta, “Throne of the Sea”, in Red Queen, →ISBN. From the entry cecaelia
  • After a few more raps and some stern looks, there was silence.2014, Jolie Jaquinta, “Throne of the Sea”, in Red Queen, →ISBN. From the entry cecaelia
  • Thus the rise of a seemingly incongruous pairing: steampunk rap, or chap-hop.2013, Julie Anne Taddeo, Cynthia J. Miller, Steaming into a Victorian Future, page 90. From the entry chap-hop
  • And knowing the history of that song, it had proper rap credentials.2012, Mike Skinner, The Story of The Streets, page 31. From the entry banger
  • The other voice is garbly and robotic, sounding like a bad techno rap song.2011, Daniel Mega, Carniboars. From the entry garbly
  • They dance to all kinds of music—Congolese, Malinke, Zuluka, American, rap, reggae, funk, and other styles.2009, Timothy L. Gall, Jeneen Hobby, editors, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life: Africa, 2nd edition, volume 1, Farmington…. From the entry Bujumburan
  • You should avoid heavy metal (too angry) and rap (too rhymey).2009 June 4, Vinay Menon, “Ladies, some male wisdom about sex”, in Toronto Star. From the entry rhymey
  • I. delivers supertechnical raps without ever sounding as boring as that last sentence.2007 July 3, Kelefa Sanneh, “In Rap, Inner War Can Be a Trap”, in New York Times. From the entry supertechnical
  • Rap duo The Coup evokes Black Pantheresque sentiments of revolution in songs such as “Get Up.”2007 February, Andrew Klein, “Bring Hip Hop Back to Its Roots”, in Julia Arnous, editor, Boston Latin School Argo, volume XXXX, number IV…. From the entry black pantheresque
  • “What punk was to rock,” he explains, “crunk is to rap.”2005, Tamara Palmer, Country Fried Soul, page 17. From the entry crunk

Meaning of rap

  1. noun A sharp blow with something hard.
  2. noun The blame for something, a reprimand, censure, or a legal sentence to serve in prison.
  3. noun A casual talk.

Full definition of rap

Questions about rap in a sentence

How do you use rap in a sentence?
Rap is used as a noun and verb. For example: “You can't act irresponsibly and then expect me to take the rap.”
What is a short sentence with rap?
“They like listening to rap.”
What does rap mean?
Rap means a sharp blow with something hard.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rap (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use rap in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/rap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.