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

He was convicted of murder during the commission of rape and burglary in 2008 for the 1980 rape and killing of 70-year-old Simone Sharpe in Seal Beach. —Sierra Van Der Brug, Oc Register, 25 Dec. 2025

The facility’s security regime is at the lowest level in the federal system, but his account of prison life foregrounds razor wire and the prospect of rape. —Ian Parker, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025

The questions that rape victims tend to face don’t allow for the kind of messiness that accompanies violation. —Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025

Due to a positive audience response to the pairing, the writers retconned the scene as a seduction, rather than rape. —Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 22 Dec. 2025

Fine, put it all out, but don't distract from the fundamental issue, which is, who are these powerful people who visited rape – rape island? —CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025

Joseph was charged with being a principal to first-degree rape, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and multiple firearms charges, Guidroz said. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 21 Dec. 2025

Farber could also choose not to hold the meeting and proceed with setting plans in motion for a new trial on rape charge, related to former aspiring actress Jessica Mann. —Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 19 Dec. 2025

Years later, when new technology was developed, DNA evidence linked Walls to the May 1987 rape and murder of Audrey Gygi. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025

Verb

Brunel died by suicide in his Paris prison cell in 2022 while facing charges of raping a minor. —Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 21 Dec. 2025

Smart later testified that she had been drugged, tied to a tree and raped as often as four times a day, the outlet reported. —Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025

The north star remains justice for survivors and holding the rich and powerful men who raped young girls or covered up the abuse accountable. —CBS News, 19 Dec. 2025

Corey tells me that he was raped on the set of Lucas. —Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Dec. 2025

Collaborating with the moderate NAACP, Moore advocated for the freedom of five of the Scottsboro Boys, a group of nine Black teens falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama. —Dara T. Mathis, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025

In a storyline that would prove groundbreaking and highly influential in the establishment of the 1970s soap-opera supercouple phenomenon, Luke raped Laura, a sign that the soap hadn’t intended to keep Geary around for long. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2025

When Luke finally tied the knot with Genie Francis’ Laura (whom Luke had once raped), 30 million viewers tuned in to catch the nuptials. —Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 15 Dec. 2025

Edys Renan Membreno Diaz, a Honduran national who entered the United States at least seven separate times, was convicted for raping and sodomizing a disabled woman suffering from cerebral palsy and cognitive delays in the laundry room of her apartment building. —David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Dec. 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