rape

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈrāp 

1

: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person's will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception compare sexual assault, statutory rape

2

: an outrageous violation

3

: an act or instance of robbing or despoiling or carrying away a person by force

rape

2 of 4

verb

raped; raping

transitive verb

1

: to commit rape on

2

a

: despoil

b

archaic : to seize and take away by force

raper noun

rape

3 of 4

noun (2)

: an Old World herb (Brassica napus) of the mustard family grown as a forage crop and for its seeds which yield rapeseed oil and are a bird food compare canola

rape

4 of 4

noun (3)

: the pomace of grapes left after expression of the juice

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• violation
• assault

Verb

• violate
• assault
• force

Examples of rape in a Sentence

Noun (1)

an international law defining rape as a war crime

the legend of the rape of the Sabine women by the ancient Romans was frequently depicted in classical art

Verb

He is accused of raping the girl.

She was raped by a fellow student.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

These incidents have drawn comparisons to an infamous 1995 case in which three U.S. servicemembers were convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl on her way home from school in Okinawa. —Christopher Cann, USA Today, 26 June 2025

Thomas Loden, who pleaded guilty to raping and killing a 16-year-old girl, was executed in December 2022. —CBS News, 25 June 2025

In December 2024, U.S. Air Force member Brennon Washington was sentenced to five years in Japanese prison for kidnapping and raping an underage girl. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 25 June 2025

The incident took place nearly 30 years after three US servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawa school girl in 1995 –– which triggered backlash against the US military’s presence. —Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 25 June 2025

He was also convicted of attempting to rape another woman on that night. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 23 June 2025

Read Next National Teen was raped on mattress in a field in 2006, Utah officials say. —Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 18 June 2025

Read Next National Security officer fatally shoots man fighting with his girlfriend, OK cops say May 27, 2025 4:39 PM Read Next National Cop raped intoxicated woman in 2019 after 911 call, OK cops say. —Kate Linderman, Miami Herald, 18 June 2025

When a youth soccer coach forgot his phone at a restaurant, staff members trying to figure out who had left it unwittingly found dozens of photos and videos of the man raping boys, Tennessee authorities said. —Olivia Lloyd, Charlotte Observer, 18 June 2025

Noun

An investigation was started in February 2022 after the first report of rape was made, the police said, adding that Partey is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 5. —Ben Morse, CNN Money, 4 July 2025

Robert Paul Lamb, 36, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape involving a minor victim, the release states. —arkansasonline.com, 3 July 2025

Sergio Esquivel-Aguilar, 19, was charged with felony counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, and second-degree robbery, as well as two misdemeanor gun possession counts. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 3 July 2025

Former Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore has been found guilty of rape. —Chris Biderman july 3, Sacbee.com, 3 July 2025

Watts was linked to three other rape cases in 2000, 2015 and 2019, the release said. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

But, while detained on the charge, Bragg was identified by multiple other women in police lineups for numerous rapes perpetrated by an unidentified Black man. —Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

The only major crime category not to decrease was rape, which has seen a 20% jump in reported incidents this year. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 1 July 2025

Even in the case of rape, brave women have given birth to a child whose fault the conception was not. —Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, "violent seizure, abduction of a woman with the intent of sexually assaulting her," borrowed from Anglo-French rap, rape, probably borrowed from Medieval Latin rapum, noun derivative of rapiō, rapere "to seize and carry off, abduct a woman with the intent of sexually assaulting her" — more at rape entry 2

Note: Use of this word in its most predominant modern meaning is attested early in legal Anglo-French and British Medieval Latin, though the precise derivational pathways are uncertain. The Latin word may have been based on the Anglo-French word, but both must ultimately be dependent on the classical Latin verb. Note that rapum exists alongside classical Latin raptus, the regularly derived u-stem verbal noun, used in British Medieval Latin in the sense "rape." Compare ravish.

Verb

Middle English rapen "to abduct a woman with the intent of sexually assaulting her," borrowed from Anglo-French raper, borrowed from Medieval Latin rapiō, rapere "to seize and carry off, abduct a woman with of the intent of sexually assaulting her," going back to Latin, "to seize and carry off, take away by force, carry off a woman with the intent of sexually assaulting her, carry or sweep along, impel forcibly (to a course of conduct), snatch up, gather quickly" — more at rapid entry 1

Note: The verb rapen in its predominant modern sense is rare in Middle English, the more common verb meaning "to rape" being ravisshen "to ravish." The Middle English Dictionary lists rapen with a meaning "to carry off, transport (the soul to heaven)," but all forms cited are for a past participle rapt, rapte, which appears to have been borrowed directly from Medieval Latin raptus, past participle of rapere in this sense (see rapt). See also the note at rape entry 1.

Noun (2)

Middle English, "turnip, Brassica napus," borrowed from Latin rāpa, rāpum "turnip"; akin to Germanic *rōbjōn- "turnip" (whence Middle Dutch & Middle Low German rove, Old High German ruoba, ruoppa), Lithuanian rópė, Greek rháphys, rhápys (all going back to an earlier *rāp(h)-), Church Slavic (eastern) rěpa, Polish rzepa (going back to *rēp-), Welsh erfin "turnips, rape," Breton irvin (going back to *arb-īno-, perhaps metathesized from *rab-), all from a substratal pre-Indo-European word of uncertain form

Note: The Greek forms with fluctuating aspiration, as well as the derivative rháphanos "any of various cultivars of Brassica oleracea, radish," with the suffix -anos, argue for membership in the same pre-Greek substratum as a number of other Greek words; whether the other European forms are borrowed from this etymon or are part of a more general substratum is unclear (see Robert Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2010, p. 1277). Not related to Old Norse rófa "tail" (see Guus Kroonen, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Brill, 2013, p. 415).

Noun (3)

French râpe grape stalk

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1657, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing rape

• acquaintance rape
• anti-rape
• date rape
• date rape drug
• gang rape
• oilseed rape
• statutory rape

Rhymes for rape

• ape
• cape
• crape
• crepe
• drape
• gape
• grape
• pape
• scape
• scrape
• shape
• snape

Kids Definition

rape

1 of 3 noun

ˈrāp 

: an herb related to the mustards that is grown for animals to graze on and for its seeds which are used as birdseed and as a source of oil

compare canola

rape

2 of 3 verb

raped; raping

1

archaic : to take away by force

2

: to have sexual relations with by force

raper noun

rapist

ˈrā-pəst 

noun

rape

3 of 3 noun

: an act or instance of raping

Etymology

Noun

Middle English rape "the herb rape," from Latin rapa, rapum "turnip, rape"

Verb

Middle English rapen "to take away by force," from Latin rapere "to seize"

Medical Definition

rape

1 of 3 noun

ˈrāp 

: a European herb (Brassica napus) of the mustard family grown as a forage crop and for its seeds which yield rapeseed oil and are a bird food see canola sense 1

rape

2 of 3 transitive verb

raped; raping

: to commit rape on

rape

3 of 3 noun

: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent compare sexual assault, statutory rape

Legal Definition

rape

1 of 2 transitive verb

raped; raping

: to commit rape on

raper noun

rapist noun

rape

2 of 2 noun

: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception see also statutory rape

Note: The common-law crime of rape involved a man having carnal knowledge of a woman not his wife through force and against her will, and required at least slight penetration of the penis into the vagina. While some states maintain essentially this definition of rape, most have broadened its scope especially in terms of the sex of the persons and the nature of the acts involved. Marital status is usually irrelevant. Moreover, the crime is codified under various names, including first degree sexual assault, sexual battery, unlawful sexual intercourse, and first degree sexual abuse.

Etymology

Transitive verb

Latin rapere to seize and take away by force