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 of rape

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

Noun

The student accused of rape could not be reached for comment, but Alpha Delta Phi said he has been suspended from the fraternity, according to Steve Ehrfurth, executive director of the national organization. — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

The woman accusing Peters of rape in this latest case also filed a civil lawsuit against him in April in Florida. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Police and court records show Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton's biological father reported him to authorities. — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

The sentence included 20 consecutive six-year prison terms for rape convictions, along with a four-year term, totaling 124 years. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

No breast-feeding or rape support group should be allowed to exclude him. — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026

Instagram direct messages to a University of Miami football player that included rape imagery, violent slavery imagery, three uses of the N-word and two uses of a homophobic slur are under investigation by the Florida Bar. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026

This means that the larger social dynamics created by rape—even the prospect of rape—in small, intimate communities go unconsidered. — B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

On day six of Brand’s rape trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court, the jury was shown a video of a 2023 police interview with an alleged victim. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026

Verb

In 1980, Cheek was convicted of raping a young woman at gunpoint. — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Arthur and her daughter have not had contact since 1978, when Arthur’s second husband, Cledith Arthur, was indicted and charged with raping his 12-year-old stepdaughter. — Teo Armus, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026

On the ninth day of Brand’s trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court, witnesses gave evidence in support of Complainant 5 (C5), who alleges that she was raped by the Forgetting Sarah Marshall actor after meeting him at a comedy gig in 2009. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026

Acton has said that her stepfather repeatedly raped her as a pre-teenage girl and that her family lived in a tent at the time she was removed from their care. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Another woman alleged that Brand orally raped her in 2004 in the restroom of a London bar. — ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026

Her mother lost custody of Acton and her brother after her husband — the children’s stepfather — was indicted on a charge of raping Acton. — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Her mother lost custody of Acton and her brother after her husband — the children’s stepfather — was indicted for raping Acton. — Julie Carr Smyth, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

Newspaper clippings from 1978 obtained by the outlet indicate that Acton’s stepfather was charged with raping her, and that her father reported him to police, prompting an investigation. — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2026

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 entry 1). 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