harp
/hɑɹp/noun, verb
harp is spelled H-A-R-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, harp means “A musical instrument consisting of a body and a curved neck, strung with strings of varying length that are stroked or plucked with the fingers and…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of harp is harps.
How many letters and syllables are in harp?
| Letters | 4: H-A-R-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is harp?
Harp appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce harp?
- UK /hɑːp/
- US /hɑɹp/
Harp has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-harp.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with harp?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as harp from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹp/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of harp
- harps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- harping participle, present
- harped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does harp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A musical instrument consisting of a body and a curved neck, strung with strings of varying length that are stroked or plucked with the fingers and are vertical to the soundboard when viewed from the end of the body
- 2
Any instrument of the same musicological type.
- 3
colloquialA harmonica.
- 4
colloquialA struck tuned percussion instrument of metal or wooden bars, especially as a function of a theatre organ.
- 5
ScotlandA grain sieve.
- 6
The component of a lamp to which one attaches the lampshade, consisting of a lightweight frame that usually surrounds the bulb with an attachment at the top for the finial.
- 7
Ellipsis of harp seal.
verb
- 1
derogatoryTo repeatedly mention a subject, especially so as to nag or complain.
Why do you harp on a single small mistake?
- 2
To play on (a harp or similar instrument).
- 3
To play (a tune) on the harp.
- 4
archaicTo develop or give expression to by skill and art; to sound forth as from a harp; to hit upon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Harp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does harp come from?
From Middle English harpe, from Old English hearpe (“harp”), from Proto-West Germanic *harpā, from Proto-Germanic *harpǭ (“harp”). Cognate with Scots hairp (“harp”), West Frisian harpe, harp (“harp”), Low German Harp (“harp”), Dutch harp (“harp”), German Harfe (“harp”), Danish harpe (“harp”), Swedish harpa (“harp”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).