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The word rapport bears a resemblance to a more common English word, report, which is no coincidence: both words come ultimately from the Latin verb portare, meaning "to carry," and both traveled through French words meaning "to bring back" on their way to English. Report has been in use since the 14th century, when it entered Middle English by way of Anglo-French, the French language as it was spoken in medieval England. Rapport was first used in the mid-15th century as a synonym of report in its "an account or statement" meaning, but that meaning had become obsolete by the mid-19th century.

Examples of rapport in a Sentence

Carter had some conventional assets. Although he was a southerner, he had an easy rapport with blacks and the early support of some key black leaders in his home state … — Jack W. Germond, Fat Man in a Middle Seat, 2002 The name "horse whisperer" appears to be an ancient one from the British Isles, given to people whose rapport with horses seemed almost mystical. — Paul Trachtman, Smithsonian, May 1998 … is said to have established an unusual rapport with the Afghan officers through demonstrating his respect for their traditions and way of life. — Carey Schofield, The Russian Elite, 1993 Moreover, I shall … be arguing that the strength of even the more formal Southern writers stems from their knowledge of and rapport with the language spoken by the unlettered. — Cleanth Brooks, The Language of the American South, 1985 He quickly developed a good rapport with the other teachers. She works hard to build rapport with her patients. There is a lack of rapport between the members of the group. See More

Recent Examples on the Web That’s a lot of time, a lot of trust, a lot of rapport. — Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 July 2022 Making trips to Florida and Georgia every other year can the Cardinals' visibility and increase U of L's rapport with the local high schools and coaching staffs in two crucial recruiting hotbeds. — Alexis Cubit, The Courier-Journal, 28 June 2022 Shinzo Abe took special interest in building rapport with the Oval Office, often using his love of golf as a calling card. — Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 8 July 2022 True salesmanship lies in empathy—in striking a chord, building a rapport and understanding what your clients need or want. — Manish Gupta, Forbes, 17 June 2022 China's interest in building rapport with the Pacific Islands countries is not new. — Simone Mccarthy, CNN, 6 June 2022 For Wilson, Hackett and the rest of the Denver offense, at this stage that process includes mostly building rapport on and off the field. — Parker Gabriel, USA TODAY, 23 May 2022 Wednesday marked just their second practice together, but as evidenced by Haliburton's lighthearted scolding of Brogdon, the two are quickly building a rapport. — James Boyd, The Indianapolis Star, 23 Feb. 2022 Occasionally have the backup handle routine communication with the client to establish rapport. — David Cristello, Forbes, 13 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rapport.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.