1
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction
after sawing the board in half, rasp the ends to remove any splinters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to annoy
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
the two siblings seemed intent on rasping each other for the entire car trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to wear
to damage or diminish by continued friction
during the last ice age, glaciers rasped the surface, leaving the deeply scarred rock
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rasp
Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2025
The crowd was eating out of the palm of his hand, hanging on every word spit with that signature rasp.
—Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 18 Aug. 2025
Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
Thrips have rasping, sucking mouthparts.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Noun
None of this would land without the heroic voice acting of Pamela Adlon, who subtly dials up his boyish vocal fry into the rasp of a grown man.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2025
The crowd was eating out of the palm of his hand, hanging on every word spit with that signature rasp.
—Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 18 Aug. 2025
Verb
For a short time, the line rasped, smoking, through the chocks.
—Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
Thrips have rasping, sucking mouthparts.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasp
Noun
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Cancel all recurring meetings for 48 hours and rebuild from scratch.—
Vicki Salemi,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
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When a telecom partner in Southeast Asia wants to bundle multiple streaming services with different access tiers, AI can map the entitlements, set pricing guardrails, and configure billing — work that previously meant building custom integrations from scratch.—
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Cole, a Belgian gelding who’s about 12 years old, calmly stood tied to a rope in the barn on the Kuehls’ property as visitors walked up to him and rubbed above his nose.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
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Combined with the swiveling dining table, the setup allows several digital nomads to comfortably clack away on their keyboards at the same time – no banging elbows or rubbing knees.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That ecosystem is being threatened, the letter notes, due to AI developers scraping creative work, often without authorization, compensation or transparency.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2026
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Training data for the models is often a messy patchwork assembled from millions of sources, much of it scraped from the open web.—
Craig S. Smith,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In particular, you might be concerned or annoyed about financial issues with a friend or a group.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
25 Jan. 2026
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Here are two habits that often annoy people the most, and reliably signal that a partner is deeply invested in you.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Adding onto the wear-and-tear element was that Monday’s game was a back-to-back, one caused by Saturday’s matchup being postponed to Sunday after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The suspect is described as a man about six feet tall, wearing a black hoodie and black pants.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Hearing the house creak in the recordings was important, Auerbach said.—
Audrey Gibbs,
USA Today,
1 Jan. 2026
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Owners at the condo, where many units sold for upwards of $20 million, have complained of leaks, creaks, and elevators that break frequently, in one case trapping a resident for more than an hour.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The attorney who filed the suit didn’t respond to requests for comment.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
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The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will also conduct a legal analysis to determine whether any criminal charges must be filed and if the shooting was justified.—
Summer Lin,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The celebrities allege that the company illegally spied on them by hiring private investigators to hack their phones, bug their cars and access private records.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
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Harry, along with Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and others, alleges the publisher hired private investigators to bug their cars, obtain personal records and eavesdrop on calls.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rasp. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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