rape
/ˈɹeɪ̯p/noun, verb
rape is spelled R-A-P-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rape means “The act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rape is rapes.
How many letters and syllables are in rape?
| Letters | 4: R-A-P-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 30 times per million words; the 3,114th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 rape?
Rape appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,114th 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 rape?
- US /ˈɹeɪ̯p/
- Australia /ˈɹæɪ̯p/
- Australia [ˈɹʷæ̝ɪ̯p]
Rape has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-rape.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rape?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rape from its last stressed vowel (/eɪp/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: reap, pear, pare, aper.
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 rape
- rapes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- raping participle, present
- raped participle, past
- more rape comparative
- most rape superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rape mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another person, regardless of gender; by extension, any non-consensual sex act forced on or perpetrated by any being.
- 2
offensiveslangOverpowerment; utter defeat.
- 3
offensiveslangAn insult to one's senses so severe that one feels that they cannot ever be the same afterwards.
The ear rape of that concert was so bad I can't even listen to their songs at work anymore.
- 4
archaicThe taking of something by force; seizure, plunder.
the Rape of Nanjing
- 5
archaicThe abduction of a woman, especially for sexual purposes.
- 6
obsoleteThat which is snatched away.
- 7
obsoleteMovement, as in snatching; haste; hurry.
- 8
One of the six former administrative divisions of Sussex, England.
It seems to me very clear that the rapes of Sussex were divisions already existing there when the Normans landed.
- 9
Synonym of rapeseed, Brassica napus.
- 10
The stalks and husks of grapes from which the must has been expressed in winemaking.
- 11
A filter containing the stalks and husks of grapes, used for clarifying wine, vinegar, etc.
- 12
obsoleteFruit plucked in a bunch.
a rape of grapes
- 13
obsoleteHaste; precipitancy; a precipitate course.
verb
- 1
To force sexual intercourse or other sexual activity upon (someone) without their consent.
[…] in the country of my birth […] my attack now "counts," and my rapist could be prosecuted […] In the place in which I live today, he could not. The statute in my current state of residence reserves that term for the forcible insertion of
- 2
To seize by force. (Now often with sexual overtones.)
- 3
To carry (someone, especially a woman) off against their will, especially for sex; to abduct.
- 4
To plunder, to destroy or despoil.
- 5
offensiveslangTo subject (another person) to a painful or unfair experience.
- 6
offensiveslangTo overpower, destroy (someone); to trounce.
My experienced opponent will rape me at chess.
- 7
offensiveslangTo exploit an advantage, often involving money, where the other person has little choice but to submit.
Have you seen the prices in that store lately? I got raped for $20 just buying a sandwich.
- 8
obsoleteTo make haste; to hasten or hurry.
adverb
- 1
obsoleteQuickly; hastily.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rape in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | viol , violer , pirater |
| German | Vergewaltigung, Schändung, Notzucht , vergewaltigen, schänden , verderben |
| Portuguese | estupro, violação , estuprar, violentar, violar |
| Spanish | violación, estupro, ultraje , violar, ultrajar, forzar |
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 rape come from?
From Middle English rapen, rappen (“to abduct; ravish; seduce; rape; seize; snatch; carry off; transport”), probably from Latin rapiō (verb), possibly through or influenced by Anglo-Norman rap, rape (noun) (compare also ravish). But compare Swedish rappa (“to snatch, seize, carry off”), Low German rapen (“to snatch, seize”), Dutch rapen (“to pick up, gather, collect”); the relationship with Germanic forms is not clear. Cognate with Lithuanian reikėti (“to be in need”). Compare also rap (“seize, snatch”). Further, some senses may be from Etymology 3, an Old Norse word.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).