Meaning of rap in English

1. Pronunciation

   /ræp/

   US accent

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   UK accent

   How to pronounce rap in British English, in context ▾
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1. Verb

   rap

   Etymology

   Middle English (originally in the senses ‘severe blow with a weapon’ and ‘deliver a heavy blow’): probably imitative and of Scandinavian origin; compare with Swedish rappa‘beat, drub’, also with clap and flap

   Definitions

   1. strike sharply

   Examples

   • « rap him on the knuckles »
2. 2. make light, repeated taps on a surface

   Examples

   • « he was tapping his fingers on the table impatiently »
3. 3. perform rap music
4. 4. talk volubly

5. Noun

   rap

   Etymology

   early 19th century: from Irish ropaire‘robber’; used as the name of a counterfeit coin in 18th-century Ireland

   Definitions

   1. a reproach for some lapse or misdeed

   Examples

   • « he took the blame for it »
   • « it was a bum rap »
6. 2. a gentle blow
7. 3. the sound made by a gentle blow
8. 4. voluble conversation
9. 5. genre of African-American music of the 1980s and 1990s in which rhyming lyrics are chanted to a musical accompaniment

   Examples

   • « several forms of rap have emerged »
10. 6. the act of hitting vigorously

    Examples

    • « he gave the table a whack »