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

Atkinson’s score, dedicated to French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot, explores the film’s themes using music that feels both like a cage and an escape. — Vanessa Ague, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026

An appeals court on Friday rejected Harvey Weinstein‘s bid to overturn his rape conviction in Los Angeles, but ordered a lower court judge to resentence him. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 26 June 2026

Prosecutors in New York won’t seek a fourth trial for rape charges against Harvey Weinstein, which were overturned by one jury and deadlocked by two others. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2026

After spending close to seven years in prison, Weinstein, 74, has still served less than half of his 16-year-sentence in California, where he was found guilty of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and penetration by foreign object against Jane Doe 1. — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026

The perpetually and publicly ailing 74-year-old Weinstein’s third New York rape trial ended in mid-May with a deadlocked jury. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 25 June 2026

This includes a forcible rape arrest in Missouri in 2006. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 25 June 2026

The rape charge in this case was a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison — less time than Weinstein already has served. — ABC News, 25 June 2026

Jessica Mann is speaking out about her decision to end litigation related to her rape allegation against Harvey Weinstein. — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 25 June 2026

Verb

Federal immigration officials are urging New York authorities not to release a 59-year-old Salvadoran national accused of raping a 16-year-old girl on Long Island, warning that he should be turned over to ICE if released from local custody. — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026

Prosecutors in Seminole County are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of twice raping his 6-year-old relative — marking the second time in recent months that Central Florida officials have sought capital punishment in such a case. — Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 June 2026

In a series of interviews with detectives, Jackman ultimately admitted to raping 32 women in Kansas City. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 18 June 2026

Mystikal has received a 20-year prison sentence for raping a woman at his Louisiana home in 2022, Associated Press reports. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 17 June 2026

Rapper Mystikal was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a woman in his Louisiana home. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 17 June 2026

The sheriff said Lawhead was sentenced to spend 19 years in prison for brutally attacking a 71-year-old grandmother and raping her 11-year-old granddaughter in 1980 in Sacramento County. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 16 June 2026

In March, a lawyer for Partey said the player intends to plead not guilty to two new charges of rape after a woman alleged Partey twice raped her on the same day in December 2020. — ABC News, 16 June 2026

However, in October of that year, the woman was left alone and unsupervised when a man who also lived at the facility entered her room and raped her, according to a lawsuit filed last year in Cook County on the woman’s behalf, charging negligence by Albany Care. — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 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). 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